Endurance Posts $101.8 Million Q1 Net; Conference Call Today

Bermuda-based Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. reported net income of $101.8 million and $1.36 per diluted common share for the first quarter of 2007 versus net income of $107.0 million and $1.45 per diluted common share in the first quarter of 2006.

The Company listed the following “operating highlights” for the quarter:
— Total premiums written of $576.5 million, which include gross premiums written and deposit premiums, decreased 14.0 percent over
the same period in 2006;
— Total ceded premiums were $39.6 million versus $28.4 million in the first quarter of 2006;
— A combined ratio of 86.7 percent which includes 14.8 percentage
points of favorable prior year loss reserve development and 9.6 percentage points of net catastrophe losses related to Windstorm Kyrill;
— Net investment income of $74.8 million increased 21.6 percent over the same period in 2006;
— Operating income, which excludes after-tax realized investment gains and losses and foreign exchange gains and losses, was $105.2 million and $1.41 per diluted common share; and
— Operating return on average common equity for the quarter was 4.8 percent, or 19.0 percent on an annualized basis.

Chairman and CEO Kenneth J. LeStrange, commented “I am pleased with the strong operating earnings we generated this quarter. During the first quarter we also continued to build a diversified book of business by expanding in niche markets that remain profitable while selectively reducing our exposure in some reinsurance lines as profit margins are coming under pressure.”

Total premiums written in the first quarter of 2007 were $576.5 million, a decrease of $94.0 million or 14.0 percent. Endurance said the decline “is attributable to intended reductions in premium writings in the Company’s Reinsurance business segment, offset in part by growth in Endurance’s Insurance business segment.”

Net premiums earned for the first quarter of 2007 were $377.0 million, a decrease of $43.2 million, or 10.3 percent, from the first quarter of 2006. The decrease “resulted from increased reinsurance purchases, including premiums ceded to the Company’s catastrophe bond and loan facility, Shackleton Re, and an absence of the positive earned premium adjustments which benefited the first quarter of 2006,” said the announcement.

Endurance’s combined ratio was 86.7 percent in the first quarter of 2007 versus 85.2 percent for the first quarter of 2006.

The current quarter operating results were positively impacted by $55.9 million of favorable prior year loss reserve development. The Company’s current quarter operating results were adversely affected by losses from Windstorm Kyrill, which resulted in a gross loss of $40 million and a net loss of $33.9 million after reinstatement premiums and taxes.

The full report is available on the Company’s web site at: www.endurance.bm.

Endurance will host a conference call today, May 3, 2007 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time to discuss its financial results. The conference call can be accessed via telephone by dialing (800) 819-9193 (toll-free) or (913) 981-4911 (international). Those who intend to participate in the conference call should register at least ten minutes in advance to ensure access to the call. A telephone replay of the conference call will be available through May 17, 2007 by dialing (888) 203-1112 (toll-free) or (719) 457-0820 (international) and entering the pass code: 7408485.

The public may access a live broadcast of the conference call at the “Investors” section of Endurance’s web site.