-----BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE----- Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR Originator-Name: webmaster@www.sec.gov Originator-Key-Asymmetric: MFgwCgYEVQgBAQICAf8DSgAwRwJAW2sNKK9AVtBzYZmr6aGjlWyK3XmZv3dTINen TWSM7vrzLADbmYQaionwg5sDW3P6oaM5D3tdezXMm7z1T+B+twIDAQAB MIC-Info: RSA-MD5,RSA, QzQHXTOrJrSRM7nN8ySF/a69RQnnbwbC82LLpZSGPjZlCu7fdK6pN8AHAyKhMtdw MyFg2PLscqSdNZshQVQmFw== 0001144204-07-020728.txt : 20070426 0001144204-07-020728.hdr.sgml : 20070426 20070426120435 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0001144204-07-020728 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: 8-K PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 2 CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: 20070426 ITEM INFORMATION: Results of Operations and Financial Condition ITEM INFORMATION: Financial Statements and Exhibits FILED AS OF DATE: 20070426 DATE AS OF CHANGE: 20070426 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORP CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000094344 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: TITLE INSURANCE [6361] IRS NUMBER: 741677330 STATE OF INCORPORATION: DE FISCAL YEAR END: 1231 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 8-K SEC ACT: 1934 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 001-02658 FILM NUMBER: 07790142 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 1980 POST OAK BLVD CITY: HOUSTON STATE: TX ZIP: 77056 BUSINESS PHONE: 7136258100 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: 1980 POST OAK BLVD CITY: HOUSTON STATE: TX ZIP: 77056 8-K 1 v072674_8k.htm


 
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549


 
FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT


PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934



DATE OF REPORT (DATE OF EARLIEST EVENT REPORTED): April 26, 2007


STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORPORATION
(EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER)


DELAWARE
(STATE OR OTHER
JURISDICTION)
001-02658
(COMMISSION FILE NO.)
74-1677330
(I.R.S. EMPLOYER
IDENTIFICATION NO.)


1980 Post Oak Blvd, Houston, Texas 77056
(Address Of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (713) 625-8100



Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 0 Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

0 Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

0 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CRF 240.14a-12)

0 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13a-4))
 
 


 
 

 

ITEM 2.02. RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION.
 
A press release issued by Stewart Information Services Corporation on April 26, 2007, regarding financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2007, is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1, and the first five paragraphs thereof are incorporated herein by reference. This information is not deemed to be "filed" for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is not incorporated by reference into any Securities Act registration statements.


ITEM 9.01. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS.
 
(d) EXHIBITS
 
Exhibit No.
Description
99.1 Press release of Stewart Information Services Corporation dated April 26, 2007, reporting financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2007.

 
SIGNATURE


Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.


STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORPORATION
(Registrant) 



By: __/S/ Max Crisp__________________________
(Max Crisp, Executive Vice President,
Secretary, Treasurer, Director and Principal
Financial Officer)


Date: April 26, 2007
 
EX-99.1 2 v072674_ex99-1.htm

NEWS from: 
STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORPORATION
P.O. Box 2029, Houston, Texas 77252-2029
www.stewart.com
Contact:
Ted C. Jones
 
Director - Investor Relations
 
(713) 625-8014
 
Stewart Reports Earnings for First Quarter 2007
 
HOUSTON, April 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE: STC) today reported the results of its operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2007. (Dollar amounts in the table below are in millions, except for per share figures.)
 
 
 
First Quarter
 
 
 
2007
 
2006
 
Total revenues
 
$
531.7
 
$
539.4
 
Pretax (loss) earnings before
             
minority interests
   
(4.6
)  (a)
 
8.3
 
Net (loss) earnings
   
(4.8
)  (a)
 
2.6
 
Net (loss) earnings per
             
diluted share
   
(0.26
)  (a)
 
0.14
 

(a)
Includes a $3.2 million gain ($2.1 million after taxes, or $0.11 per diluted share) from the sale of two subsidiaries, GlobeXplorer® and AirPhotoUSA®, in the first quarter of 2007. Also includes a charge to earnings of $5.1 million ($3.3 million after taxes, or $0.18 per diluted share) for title loss provisions relating to four large title losses.

Financial Highlights

· Revenues decreased approximately 1.4 percent to $531.7 million in the first quarter of 2007 compared with $539.4 million for the first quarter of 2006. The Company reported a loss before taxes (and before minority interests) of $4.6 million for the first quarter of 2007 compared with earnings of $8.3 million for the same period of 2006. As described in the preceding footnote, the first quarter of 2007 includes a gain on the sale of two subsidiaries and a charge to earnings for large title losses.

· The revenue decline was due to decreasing home sales and prices, adverse weather conditions and reduced financing activity related in part to a weakening in the subprime lending market. Revenues were favorably impacted by commercial and international transactions. Acquisitions increased revenues by $4.3 million and pretax earnings by $0.3 million for the quarter.

· Excluding acquisitions, divestitures and startups, the Company has reduced its employee headcount since December 31, 2006 by approximately 470, or 4.7 percent. The Company has, however, increased the number of employees in its better-performing operations, including its commercial business. In addition, the current conversion and roll-out phases of the Company’s AIM+ technology will temporarily require above-normal staffing levels. The Company maintains staffing levels sufficient to continue to provide superior customer service and gain market share through a highly-trained, dedicated employee work force. The Company continues to incur significant costs related to its technology advancements.
 

 
· Stewart’s book value per share decreased to $43.81 at March 31, 2007 compared with $44.00 at December 31, 2006.

· Title orders declined in the first quarter of 2007 by 10.4 percent from the same period a year ago. Orders were 13.6 percent lower in March 2007 than in March 2006. The continued softening of the housing market was the primary reason for the decline in title orders.

“During the quarter, we continued the alignment of technology services with our Company strategy, including changing the leadership of our technology services group and incorporating responsibilities for PropertyInfo.com, Stewart’s real estate information portal, under the same leadership,” said Stewart Morris, Jr., co-chief executive officer. “The migration of ASP users to our new state-of-the-art data center is progressing well, which we expect will allow us to shut down multiple older data centers by the end of the third quarter.
 
“We are also looking forward to contributions from Murshid Khan, our new chief information officer, who joined Stewart this month,” said Stewart Morris, Jr. “His experience managing complex IT operations at Disney will be important in leading our IT efforts as we target efficiencies and increased service levels, all with the ultimate goal of enhancing the real estate transaction process.”
 
“While small in size, contracts signed this past quarter to install and service our LandFolio® system in the governmental land recording offices in Belize and Bermuda illustrate Stewart’s ability to provide industry-leading real estate transaction services globally,” said Malcolm S. Morris, co-chief executive officer.
 
“For the second year in a row, FORTUNE magazine named us one of ‘America’s Most Admired Companies’, maintaining fourth place on the mortgage services industry list,” said Malcolm S. Morris. “Our focus continues in growing the higher-profit commercial services and achieving substantial improvement in our international operations. In addition, our direct operations and acquisitions in recent years, which include operations servicing New York’s commercial customers, are producing excellent results.”
 
Stewart Information Services Corporation is a customer-oriented, technology-driven, strategically competitive, real estate information and transaction management company. Stewart provides title insurance and related information services required for settlement by the real estate and mortgage industries through more than 9,500 policy-issuing offices and agencies in the United States and international markets. Stewart also provides post-closing lender services, automated county clerk land records, property ownership mapping, geographic information systems, property information reports, flood certificates, document preparation, background checks and expertise in tax-deferred exchanges. More information can be found at http://www.stewart.com .
 
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which include all statements other than statements of historical facts. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and no assurance can be given that Stewart’s expectations will be achieved. In particular, historical order counts do not necessarily indicate future revenues because Stewart cannot predict the number of orders that will result in closings.
 


STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORPORATION
STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS
(In thousands of dollars, except per share amounts)

 
 
Three months ended
 
 
 
March 31
 
 
 
2007
 
2006
 
Revenues
         
           
Title insurance:
         
Direct operations
   
229,614
   
227,818
 
Agency operations
   
272,254
   
281,654
 
               
Real estate information
   
16,533
   
20,019
 
Investment income
   
9,051
   
8,537
 
Investment and other gains - net(1)
   
4,222
   
1,394
 
 
   
531,674
   
539,422
 
               
Expenses
             
               
Amounts retained by agencies
   
222,390
   
226,876
 
Employee costs
   
176,793
   
179,102
 
Other operating expenses
   
93,643
   
89,804
 
Title losses and related claims
   
31,859
   
25,258
 
Depreciation and amortization
   
9,885
   
8,688
 
Interest
   
1,668
   
1,429
 
 
   
536,238
   
531,157
 
               
(Loss) earnings before taxes and minority
             
interests
   
(4,564
)
 
8,265
 
Income tax (benefit) expense
   
(2,621
)
 
1,750
 
Minority interests
   
2,819
   
3,869
 
               
Net (loss) earnings
   
(4,762
)
 
2,646
 
               
Average number of diluted shares (000)
   
18,329
   
18,304
 
               
(Loss) earnings per diluted share
   
(0.26
)
 
0.14
 
               
Segment information:
             
Title revenues
   
515,141
   
519,403
 
Title pretax (loss) earnings before
             
minority interests
   
(8,056
)
 
6,765
 
               
REI revenues
   
16,533
   
20,019
 
REI pretax earnings before minority
             
interests(1)
   
3,492
   
1,500
 
               
Selected financial information:
             
Cash used by operations
   
(15,116
)
 
(14,015
)
Title loss payments - net of recoveries
   
25,453
   
27,490
 
Changes in other comprehensive earnings -
             
net of taxes
   
833
   
(3,001
)
Number of title orders opened (000):
             
January
   
55.9
   
60.3
 
February
   
53.3
   
59.5
 
March
   
63.6
   
73.4
 
Quarter
   
172.8
   
193.2
 
 

 
 
Mar 31
 
Dec 31
 
 
 
2007
 
2006
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Stockholders' equity
   
799,781
   
802,262
 
Number of shares outstanding (000)
   
18,254
   
18,231
 
Book value per share
   
43.81
   
44.00
 
 
(1)
Includes a gain of $3.2 million in 2007 related to the sale of subsidiaries.
 


STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORPORATION
BALANCE SHEETS (condensed)
(In thousands of dollars)

 
 
March 31
 
December 31
 
 
 
2007
 
2006
 
Assets
         
Cash and cash equivalents
   
104,074
   
136,137
 
Short-term investments
   
147,419
   
161,711
 
Investments - statutory reserve funds
   
503,192
   
490,540
 
Investments - other
   
65,188
   
78,249
 
Receivables - premiums from agencies
   
49,150
   
58,023
 
Receivables - other
   
57,299
   
61,556
 
Less allowance for uncollectible amounts
   
(8,330
)
 
(9,112
)
Property and equipment
   
101,002
   
99,325
 
Title plants
   
74,119
   
70,324
 
Goodwill
   
202,348
   
204,302
 
Intangible assets
   
20,902
   
15,444
 
Other assets
   
104,177
   
91,708
 
               
 
   
1,420,540
   
1,458,207
 
               
               
Liabilities
             
Notes payable
   
106,057
   
109,549
 
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities
   
94,726
   
130,589
 
Estimated title losses
   
390,802
   
384,396
 
Deferred income taxes
   
11,982
   
14,139
 
Minority interests
   
17,192
   
17,272
 
 
   
620,759
   
655,945
 
               
Contingent liabilities and commitments
             
               
Stockholders' equity
             
Common and Class B Common Stock and
             
additional paid-in capital
   
149,487
   
148,517
 
Retained earnings
   
645,314
   
649,598
 
Accumulated other comprehensive earnings
   
8,894
   
8,061
 
Treasury stock
   
(3,914
)
 
(3,914
)
 
             
Total stockholders' equity
   
799,781
   
802,262
 
               
 
   
1,420,540
   
1,458,207
 
 

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