Odyssey Re Holdings Corp. Unveils Q1 Numbers

Odyssey Re Holdings Corp. reported net income of $36.2 million, or $0.53 per common share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2005, compared to $59.0 million, or $0.85 per common share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2004.

Operating income after taxes, which excludes net realized capital gains, net of associated minority interest, was $19.6 million, or $0.29 per common share for the first quarter of 2005, compared to $36.3 million, or $0.53 per common share for the first quarter of 2004. Included in first quarter 2005 and 2004 net income were after-tax net realized capital gains, net of associated minority interest, of $16.6 million and $22.7 million, or $0.24 and $0.32 per common share, respectively.

Gross premiums written for the three months ended March 31, 2005 were $681.6 million, an increase of 8.3% compared to $629.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2004. The change was attributable to a 21.7% increase in international business and specialty insurance business written in the U.S., which offset a 9.0% decrease in U.S. reinsurance business. Net premiums written for the first quarter 2005 were $615.6 million, an increase of 11.3% over the prior year’s first quarter net premiums written of $553.2 million.

The combined ratio for the first quarter 2005 was 99.4%, versus 95.0% for the comparable 2004 period. Results for the three months ended March 31, 2005 include previously disclosed after-tax net losses of $26.2 million, or $0.37 per common share, attributable to European Windstorm Erwin and an increase in previously estimated losses from the Florida Hurricanes, Typhoon Songda, and the Indonesia earthquake/tsunami that occurred in December 2004.

Commenting on the first quarter, Andrew Barnard, president and CEO, stated, “We continue to benefit from our global platform, as our international and specialty U.S. insurance operations expanded while our U.S. reinsurance business declined. As market conditions become more challenging, underwriting discipline, combined with strong investment performance, remains our focus.”