Canada NewsWire
TORONTO, Nov. 12, 2020
TORONTO, Nov. 12, 2020 /CNW/ - Echelon Financial Holdings Inc. ("EFH" or the "Company") (TSX: EFH) which operates in the property and casualty insurance industry in Canada, today reported net income attributable to shareholders on continued operations of $2.9 million, or $0.24 per share, for the three months ended September 30, 2020.
Third Quarter Highlights
The financial information below compares three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 results with the same periods in 2019.
3 months ended | 9 months ended | |||
($ THOUSANDS except per share amounts) | 2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 |
Direct written and assumed premiums | 11,739 | 10,271 | 31,569 | 28,200 |
Net earned premiums | 9,441 | 8,362 | 26,871 | 23,824 |
Net claims incurred | 5,335 | 6,522 | 14,490 | 15,927 |
Net acquisition costs | 2,406 | 1,868 | 6,490 | 5,232 |
Operating expenses | 1,269 | 1,258 | 3,903 | 3,420 |
Corporate expense | 214 | 524 | 807 | 1,227 |
Underwriting income (loss) (1) | 431 | (1,286) | 1,988 | (755) |
Investment income (2) | 3,046 | 874 | 4,012 | 1,859 |
Impact of change in discount rate on claims | (101) | (78) | (101) | (386) |
Net income (loss) before income taxes | 3,162 | (1,014) | 5,092 | (509) |
Income tax expense (recovery) | 55 | (341) | 665 | (236) |
Net income (loss) on continued operations | 3,107 | (673) | 4,427 | (273) |
Net income (loss) on discontinued operations | (5,866) | - | (5,866) | 46,220 |
Net income (loss) | (2,759) | (673) | (1,439) | 45,947 |
Net income (loss) attributed to: | ||||
Shareholders of the Company – | 2,923 | (505) | 3,877 | (284) |
Shareholders of the Company – discontinued operations | (5,866) | - | (5,866) | 46,220 |
Non-controlling interest – continued | 184 | (168) | 550 | 11 |
Earnings per share | ||||
Continued operations | ||||
Basic | $0.24 | $(0.04) | $0.32 | $(0.02) |
Diluted | $0.24 | $(0.04) | $0.32 | $(0.02) |
Discontinued operations | ||||
Basic | $(0.49) | - | $(0.49) | $3.86 |
Diluted | $(0.49) | - | $(0.49) | $3.80 |
(1) | Underwriting income excludes impact of change in claims discount rates and corporate expenses. |
(2) | Investment income consists of interest income, dividend income, realized gains less investment expense. |
Underwriting Results:
Underwriting | Three Months | Three Months | Nine Months | Nine Months |
Personal Lines | (120) | (1,147) | 1,696 | (1,374) |
Commercial Lines | 551 | (139) | 292 | 619 |
Key Ratios | ||||
Loss Ratio | 56.5% | 78.0% | 53.9% | 66.9% |
Expense Ratio | 38.9% | 37.4% | 38.7% | 36.3% |
Combined Ratio | 95.4% | 115.4% | 92.6% | 103.2% |
Loss Ratios | ||||
Personal Lines | 61.3% | 82.0% | 52.6% | 73.2% |
Commercial Lines | 45.5% | 69.4% | 57.1% | 53.6% |
Capital Management
The Minimum Capital Test ("MCT") ratio of EFH's subsidiary, Insurance Company of Prince Edward Island (ICPEI) as at September 30, 2020 was 332%, which comfortably exceeds the supervisory target.
COVID-19 Pandemic Update
Since June 2020, ICPEI has resumed full operations in its office in Charlottetown while employees in the Mississauga office are still working from home.
ICPEI continued to provide a number of accommodations to its policyholders if they experienced hardship because of COVID-19 and adjusted their auto premiums due to reduction of use. ICPEI has only experienced a minor increase in the number of customer defaults and very few requests to lower monthly premiums based on lower usage of vehicles. These did not have a significant impact on the results of the Company.
Non-IFRS Financial Measures
EFH uses both IFRS and certain non-IFRS measures to assess performance. Securities regulators require that companies caution readers about non-IFRS measures that do not have a standardized meaning under IFRS and are unlikely to be comparable to similar measures used by other companies. EFH analyzes performance based on underwriting income and underwriting ratios such as combined, expense and loss ratios, which are non-IFRS measures. Underwriting income is defined as net earned premiums less net claims incurred, net acquisition costs, operating expenses, and excludes any impact of change in discount rate on claims and corporate expenses. Loss ratio is net claims incurred divided by net earned premiums. Expense ratio is net acquisition costs plus operating expenses divided by net earned premiums. Combined ratio is the sum of loss ratio and expense ratio.
Forward-looking Information
This news release contains forward-looking information based on current expectations. This information includes, but is not limited to, statements about the operations, business, financial condition, priorities, targets, ongoing objectives, strategies, litigation outcomes and outlook of EFH. These statements, which appear in this press release generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "would", "should", "could", "trend", "predict", "likely", "potential" or "continue" or the negative thereof and similar variations.
This information is based upon certain material factors or assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a projection as reflected in the forward-looking information. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific. A variety of material factors, many of which are beyond EFH's control, affect the operations, performance and results of its business and could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in any of this forward-looking information.
About Echelon Financial Holdings Inc.
Founded in 1998, Echelon Financial Holdings Inc. operates in the property and casualty insurance industry in Canada, providing personal and commercial lines insurance exclusively through the broker channel. The Company distributes insurance products through The Insurance Company of Prince Edward Island. It trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol EFH.
For more information, please visit www.efh.ca
SOURCE Echelon Financial Holdings Inc.
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