Progressive July Profit Surges 72%

(RTTNews) - Auto insurance group Progressive Corp. (PGR) reported Wednesday a profit for the month of July that surged 72 percent from last year, reflecting revenue growth amid improved net premiums.

The Mayfield Village, Ohio-based holding company reported net income of $101.5 million for the month of July, a 72 percent surge from $59.0 million in the prior-year period, with earnings per share rising 73 percent to $0.17 from last year's $0.10.

Comprehensive income for the month was $181.0 million or $0.30 per share, compared to $120.0 million or $0.20 per share last year.

The results for the latest month include pretax net realized gain on securities of $11.5 million, down 32 percent for $16.9 million in the same period last year.

Total revenues for the month were $1.73 billion, up from $1.61 billion a year ago. Net premiums written rose 5 percent from the year-ago period to $1.73 billion, and net premiums earned also grew 6 percent to $1.65 billion from last year.

Combined ratio for the month, or the amount of premiums paid as claims, decreased 4.2 percentage points to 92.7 percent from 96.9 percent in the same period last year.

For July, the company's total personal lines policies in force increased 1 percent to 13.02 million. Of this, total personal auto policies grew 1 percent to 8.98 million, with a 1 percent decline in Agency Auto policies and 3 percent growth in Direct Auto policies.

Total special lines policies for the month grew 1 percent from last year to 4.04 million. Meanwhile, total commercial auto policies in the month remained flat with last year at 526,000.

Total expenses for the month grew to $1.58 billion from $1.52 billion in the year-ago period.

In Wednesday's regular trading session, PGR is currently trading at $25.82, up $0.08 or 0.31% on a volume of 0.11 million shares.