EX-99 2 exhibit991.htm EXHIBIT 99.1 Exhibit 99.1

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American Physicians Service Group, Inc.

Reports Dramatic Quarter-Over-Quarter Growth in Earnings;  Increase in Book

Value per Share


AUSTIN, TEXAS, May 5, 2008 – American Physicians Service Group, Inc. (“APS”) (NASDAQ: AMPH) today announced results for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.  For the three months ended March 31, 2008, revenues were $19,632,000 compared to $8,887,000 for the same period last year.  Net earnings were $3,380,000 or $.46 per diluted share, compared to a loss of $95,000 or $.03 per diluted share in the same period last year.  


Ken Shifrin, APS’ Chairman of the Board, stated, “Our acquisition of American Physicians Insurance Company last year continues to drive our results, with strong profits this quarter, compared to a small loss a year ago.  Equally important is our steady growth in book value per share.  At March 31, 2008 our book value per share stood at $17.67 compared to $10.82 at March 31, 2007 and $17.19 at the end of 2007.”


Tim LaFrey, President of APS, added, “We continue to experience a favorable claims environment as a result of tort reform and strong underwriting discipline, while our loss reserves, including those for the current accident year,  remain conservatively positioned at the upper end of the actuarial range. Our cash and investments grew from $223 million to $234 million during the quarter and we continue to conservatively manage the investment portfolio.  We have avoided exposure to sub-prime mortgage-backed securities and auction rate securities and have only $6.2 million, a relatively small part of our portfolio, in Alt A mortgage-backed securities.”


Mr. LaFrey continued, “Operationally, our insurance segment has seen rates begin to firm.  Retention for the quarter was  strong at 92%.  Claims continued to trend favorably and as a result we experienced favorable development of $4.2 million during the quarter, of which $1.5 million was in our retained layer and $2.7 million was in our reinsurance layer. These adjustments were made while continuing to maintain our very conservative philosophy, as evidenced by our average reserve per open claim increasing from approximately $110,000 at year-end 2007 to approximately $122,000 at the end of the quarter.  In our Financial Services segment we experienced a loss, as the slowdown in overall activity we saw beginning in the fourth quarter of 2007 continued through the first quarter.  Though we were not able to avoid the effects of volatile markets, we were able to be opportunistic in our recruiting efforts and expand our producer base, which we think will serve us well over the long term.”


Mr. Shifrin concluded, “For over 20 years we have been opportunistic in repurchasing our stock when we thought it was in the interests of shareholders.  During the quarter we were able to repurchase a little over 1% of our shares and our Board authorized an additional $4 million for future purchases.  With our excellent cash flow and un-leveraged balance sheet this level of repurchases does not jeopardize our ability to pursue expansion opportunities.  We are pleased with our results for the quarter and look forward to reporting our progress as we continue into 2008.”






APS is an insurance and financial services firm with subsidiaries which provide medical malpractice insurance for physicians and other healthcare professionals and brokerage and other investment services to institutions and high net worth individuals.  The Company is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and maintains offices in Dallas.


This press release includes forward-looking statements related to the Company that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially.  These forward-looking statements are made in reliance on the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  For further information about these factors that could affect the Company’s future results, please see the Company’s recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Prospective investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance.  Actual results may differ materially from management expectations.  Copies of the filings are available upon request from the Company’s investor relations department.


For further information, visit APS’ website at www.amph.com or contact:

Mr. Kenneth Shifrin, Chairman of the Board (or)

Mr. Tim LaFrey, President (or)

Mr. Marc Zimmermann, Vice President - Finance

American Physicians Service Group, Inc.

1301 S. Capital of Texas Highway, C-300

Austin, Texas  78746 - (512) 328-0888





AMERICAN PHYSICIANS SERVICE GROUP, INC.

  SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA


(in thousands, except per share data)

March 31,

 

December 31,

 

2008

 

2007

 

(Unaudited)

 

 

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investments

$

204,974

 

$

 204,802

Cash and cash equivalents

 

29,074

 

 

18,391

Premium and maintenance fees receivables

 

14,406

 

 

15,946

Reinsurance recoverables

 

18,104

 

 

24,554

Deferred policy acquisition costs

 

2,422

 

 

2,514

Deferred tax assets

 

8,618

 

 

7,402

Property and equipment, net

 

516

 

 

350

Intangible assets

 

1,206

 

 

1,045

Federal income tax receivable

 

-

 

 

1,957

Prepaid and other assets

 

5,190

 

 

5,837

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total assets

$

 284,510

 

$

 282,798

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reserve for loss and loss adjustment expense

$

 101,976

 

$

 101,606

Unearned premiums and maintenance fees

 

34,160

 

 

35,417

Funds held under reinsurance treaties

 

5,311

 

 

4,651

Trade accounts payable

 

1,487

 

 

996

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

 

2,957

 

 

7,594

Federal income tax payable

 

3,132

 

 

-

Mandatorily redeemable preferred stock

 

8,658

 

 

8,554

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

 

157,681

 

 

158,818

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total shareholders’ equity

 

126,829

 

 

123,980

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   

$

 284,510

 

$

 282,798

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shares outstanding

 

7,177

 

 

7,214

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book value per share

$

 17.67

 

$

 17.19





AMERICAN PHYSICIANS SERVICE GROUP, INC.

SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

(UNAUDITED)


(In thousands, except share data)

Three Months Ended

March 31,

 

2008

 

2007

REVENUES

 

 

 

 

 

Gross premiums written

$

14,736 

 

$

 - 

Premiums Ceded

 

1,395 

 

 

Change in Unearned Premiums

 

1,223 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Net premiums earned

 

17,354 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment income, net of investment expense

 

3,056 

 

 

334 

Realized capital gain (loss), net

 

 (2,595)

 

 

 (414)

Management service and other revenue

 

17 

 

 

3,675 

Financial services

 

1,800 

 

 

5,292 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      Total revenues

 

19,632 

 

 

8,887 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXPENSES

 

 

 

 

 

Loss and loss adjustment expenses

 

7,509 

 

 

Other underwriting expenses

 

2,697 

 

 

Management service expenses

 

 

 

3,823 

Financial services expenses

 

2,570 

 

 

4,437 

General and administrative expenses

 

1,558 

 

 

772 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      Total expenses

 

14,334 

 

 

9,032 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income tax expense (benefit)

 

1,918 

 

 

 (49)

Minority interests

 

 

 

 (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

      Net income (loss)

$

 3,380 

 

$

 (95)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted income (loss) per share

$

 0.46 

 

$

 (0.03)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding

 

7,297 

 

 

2,822 







SELECTED INSURANCE DATA FOR API, pre and post merger

 

 

 

 

 

Claims History

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Claims Reported

 

Open Claims

Date

 

in the Quarter

 

at Quarter End

March 31, 2008

 

98

 

688

December 31, 2007

 

128

 

740

September 30, 2007

 

89

 

746

June 30, 2007

 

84

 

822

March 31, 2007

 

113

 

848

December 31, 2006

 

102

 

808

September 30, 2006

 

160

 

770

June 30, 2006

 

143

 

710

March 31, 2006

 

106

 

665

December 31, 2005

 

84

 

705

September 30, 2005

 

99

 

756