EX-99 2 exhibit991.htm EXHIBIT 99.1 Exhibit 99.1

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Exhibit 99.1


American Physicians Service Group, Inc.

Reports 46% Quarter-Over-Quarter Growth in Earnings Per Share

AUSTIN, TEXAS, May 4, 2009 – American Physicians Service Group, Inc. (“APS”) (NASDAQ: AMPH) today announced results for the quarter ended March 31, 2009.  For the three months ended March 31, 2009, revenues were $19,231,000 compared to $19,632,000 for the same period last year.  Net earnings were $4,730,000 or $.67 per diluted share, compared to $3,380,000 or $.46 per diluted share in the same period last year.  

Ken Shifrin, APS’ Chairman of the Board, stated, “Momentum from a successful 2008 continued into the first quarter of this year, with improvements in earnings as well as in our already-strong balance sheet.  Earnings per share increased 46% quarter-over-quarter, contributing to a trailing twelve month return on equity of 15%.  Book value per share increased almost 5% during the quarter to $20.39 and our cash and investments exceeded $240 million, up from approximately $232 million at December 31, 2008.”

Tim LaFrey, President of APS, added, “Our insurance operations continued to expand during the quarter.  Gross written premiums increased approximately 19% over the same period in 2008, a result of excellent 94% policyholder retention and an increase of over 200% in new business compared to the first quarter of 2008. We were pleased that 32% of that new business came from expansion markets beyond our traditional Texas base.  Continued favorable claims frequency resulted in pending claims being down slightly from year-end. Our claims reserves remain very conservatively positioned at the upper end of the actuarial range in all periods.  We believe that we are also being conservative in our approach to our investment portfolio.  With the housing crisis unresolved, we decided strategically to decrease our exposure to non-agency mortgage obligations during the quarter through sales of these securities, reducing the non-agency component of our portfolio by approximately 45%.  Though we have experienced no principal or interest defaults to date, we will continue to monitor and adjust the portfolio to prudently reduce our exposure to potential losses.”




Mr. LaFrey continued, “In our financial services operation we began to fully benefit from the cumulative effect of our year-long cost cutting efforts.  We reduced the after-tax loss for the quarter to approximately $118 thousand, down from over $500 thousand in the first quarter of 2008. We will continue to explore all avenues to return this segment to profitability.”

Mr. Shifrin concluded, “The strong capital position that we enjoy has not come easily or by accident and we are continually working to improve and preserve it.  As reflected by the portfolio adjustments that Mr. LaFrey mentioned, we believe that preservation of capital is more critical than yield at this time and we are willing to sacrifice some short-term return for safety and liquidity.  Our strong capital position allowed us to redeem approximately $1 million of our preferred shares three months earlier than scheduled.  It also made it possible for our board of directors to authorize an additional $4 million for the repurchase of our common stock. We continue to believe that our stock is undervalued and we repurchased approximately 55 thousand shares during the quarter at an average price below book value. We are looking forward to continued progress as we continue into 2009.”

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.

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, Senior 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,

2009

 

December 31,

2008

 

(unaudited)

 

 

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investments

$

202,218 

 

$

209,709 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

38,423 

 

 

22,060 

Premium and maintenance fees receivables

 

17,285 

 

 

17,186 

Reinsurance recoverables

 

12,739 

 

 

15,293 

Deferred policy acquisition costs

 

2,681 

 

 

2,500 

Deferred tax assets

 

9,037 

 

 

9,488 

Property and equipment, net

 

541 

 

 

590 

Intangible assets

 

2,254 

 

 

2,264 

Federal income tax receivable

 

 

 

738 

Prepaid and other assets

 

4,647 

 

 

3,726 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total assets

$

289,825 

 

$

283,554 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reserve for loss and loss adjustment expense

$

91,341 

 

$

92,141 

Unearned premiums and maintenance fees

 

38,196 

 

 

36,785 

Funds held under reinsurance treaties

 

5,112 

 

 

3,978 

Trade accounts payable

 

301 

 

 

290 

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

 

4,147 

 

 

6,327 

Federal income tax payable

 

2,125 

 

 

Mandatorily redeemable preferred stock

 

6,464 

 

 

7,568 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

 

147,686 

 

 

147,089 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total shareholders’ equity

 

142,139 

 

 

136,465 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   

$

289,825 

 

$

283,554 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shares outstanding

 

6,971 

 

 

7,014 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book value per share

$

20.39 

 

$

19.46 






AMERICAN PHYSICIANS SERVICE GROUP, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)


(in thousands, except per share data)

Three Months Ended

March 31,

 

2009

 

2008

REVENUES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross premiums and maintenance fees written

$

17,540 

 

$

14,736 

Premiums ceded

 

328 

 

 

1,395 

Change in unearned premiums & maintenance fees

 

(1,411)

 

 

1,223 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net premiums and maintenance fees earned

 

16,457 

 

 

17,354 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment income, net of investment expense

 

2,551 

 

 

3,056 

Realized capital loss, net

 

(1,282)

 

 

(2,595)

Financial services

 

1,448 

 

 

1,800 

Other revenue

 

57 

 

 

17 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenues

 

19,231 

 

 

19,632 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXPENSES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Losses and loss adjustment expenses

 

6,121 

 

 

7,509 

Other underwriting expenses

 

3,221 

 

 

2,604 

Change in deferred policy acquisition costs

 

(181)

 

 

93 

Financial services expenses

 

1,628 

 

 

2,570 

General and administrative expenses

 

1,224 

 

 

1,558 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total expenses

 

12,013 

 

 

14,334 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income from operations

 

7,218 

 

 

5,298 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Federal income tax expense

 

2,488 

 

 

1,918 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income

$

4,730 

 

$

3,380 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted net income per share

$

0.67 

 

$

0.46 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding

 

7,083 

 

 

7,297 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating Income

$

5,563 

 

$

5,067 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted operating income per share

$

0.79 

 

$

0.69 





Non-GAAP Financial Measures


Operating Income is a “Non-GAAP” financial measure which is widely used in the insurance industry to evaluate the performance of underwriting operations. Operating Income excludes the after-tax effects of realized investment gains or losses and infrequent items that are not considered core to the underwriting performance of our insurance segment or the operating performance of our financial services segment, and we believe presents a more appropriate view of the performance of our core operations.  While we believe disclosure of certain non-GAAP information is appropriate, you should not consider this information without also considering the information we present in accordance with GAAP.  The following table is a reconciliation of Net Income to Operating Income:


Reconciliation of Net Income to Operating Income (in thousands, except per share data)


 

Three Months Ended

March 31,

 

2009

 

2008

Net Income

$

4,730 

 

$

3,380 

Adjustments, net of tax effects:  

 

 

 

 

 

Add:

 

 

 

 

 

Realized capital loss, net

 

833 

 

 

1,687 

Operating Income

$

5,563 

 

$

5,067 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Per diluted share:

 

 

 

 

 

Net Income

$

0.67 

 

$

0.46 

Effect of adjustments

$

0.12 

 

$

0.23 

Diluted operating income per share

$

0.79 

 

$

0.69 



SELECTED INSURANCE DATA FOR API, pre and post merger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Claims History

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Claims Reported

 

Open Claims

Date

 

in the Quarter

 

at Quarter End

March 31, 2009

 

104

 

583

December 31, 2008

 

77

 

585

September 30, 2008

 

114

 

681

June 30, 2008

 

92

 

667

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