Midwest Holding Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter 2021 and Full-Year 2021 Results

LINCOLN, Neb., March 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Midwest Holding Inc. ("Midwest") (NASDAQ: MDWT), today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021.

Fourth Quarter 2021 Highlights:

• GAAP net loss was $7.0 million compared with the $11.9 million net loss recorded in the fourth quarter of 2020.
• GAAP revenue was $16.0 million compared with negative revenue of ($0.8 million) in the fourth quarter of 2020, driven by an increase in investment income from growth in invested assets, higher service fees and from net realized investment gains compared to a net realized investment loss in the fourth quarter of 2020.
• Annuity direct written premium under statutory accounting principles ("SAP"), a non-GAAP measure, was down to $104.2 million from $136.1 million in 2020's fourth quarter due to competitive market pricing and a limited state footprint.
• Ceded premiums (SAP), decreased to $43.8 million from $50.1 million in the year-earlier quarter consistent with a decline in direct written premium.
• Expenses increased to $20.1 million from $11.6 million in the prior year due primarily to increased staffing, stock compensation expense and other operating expenses.

Full Year 2021 Highlights:

• GAAP net loss for the year was $16.6 million compared with the $12.4 million net loss recorded in 2020.
• GAAP revenue for the year was $30.1 million compared with revenue of $10.6 million in 2020, driven by an increase in investment income from growth in invested assets, higher service fees and from net realized investment gains.
• Annuity direct written premium, a non-GAAP measure, was up to $471.6 million from $415.6 million in 2020 reflecting strong growth in the first half of 2021, while the back half of the year encountered slowing growth from competitive market pricing and a limited state footprint.
• Ceded premiums, a non-GAAP measure, were $237.4 million compared to $228.1 million in the prior year.
• Expenses increased to $41.9 million from $21.4 million in the prior year due to increased salaries and benefits and other operating expenses.
• Invested assets grew to $975.5 million at year-end 2021 compared with $518.2 million at year- end 2020. The invested asset base benefitted from annuity sales in 2021 and from the deployment of proceeds of the capital raise at the end of 2020.

Georgette Nicholas, CEO of Midwest noted, "As we reflect on 2021, Midwest had a challenging year with various changes and headwinds encountered in the execution of its strategy.  The year showed growth and key accomplishments but also the challenge of growing a new business in a dynamic market and establishing a foundation to build upon.  We are taking steps and focusing our efforts on the key drivers of the business, to position ourselves to rebuild during 2022. As we move forward, I am encouraged by the trends we are seeing and the focus of the team is on the key drivers of growth in the business-premium, state expansion, reinsurance and investment management and continuing to build the operational foundation."

Ms. Nicholas said, "Our market opportunity remains significant, and our strategy is to capitalize on a growing market by distinguishing ourselves in providing annuity products to Americans saving for retirement, create and use reinsurance structures, including our captive reinsurer, to mitigate risk and provide capital support for which demand, and interest is strong from partners.  We will also provide management services around investing assets in those reinsurance structures, leveraging core capabilities established and in the administration of those vehicles, all of which can generate fee revenue.   The result at Midwest is a capital-light business model that we believe should produce higher returns for our shareholders over time."

Midwest reported a net loss of $7.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.   This compares with the $11.9 million net loss reported in the fourth quarter of 2020.   On a diluted, per-share basis, this year's quarterly loss was ($1.87) compared with ($3.78) reported in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Investment income rose in 2021's fourth quarter to $3.4 million from $2.8 million in the prior year quarter.  Driving the increase was an increase in balance of invested assets to $975.5 million from $518.2 million a year earlier as Midwest deployed the proceeds from annuity sales during 2021 and from our capital raise at the end of 2020.

Amortization of deferred gain on reinsurance reached $1.3 million in fourth quarter 2021 compared with $1.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 due to an increase in earned deferred ceding commissions along with an increase in ceded premium. 

Service fee revenue was unchanged year over year at $0.6 million.   Service fee revenue consists of fee revenue generated by our wholly owned asset manager, 1505 Capital, for asset-management services provided to third-party clients.  

Other revenue finished at $0.2 million compared with $0.1 million in the prior-year quarter.   Other revenue consists of revenue we generate by providing ancillary services, such as policy administration, to third parties. 

Our expenses were $20.1 million in the quarter compared with $11.6 million in the prior year quarter.   Contributing to the increase was an increase in salaries and benefits from additional talent added along with stock compensation expense.   Also contributing to the increase was an increase in other operating expenses from higher legal fees, consulting costs, and the gains on option allowance.

Midwest reported a net loss of $16.6 million for 2021.   This compares with the $12.4 million net loss in the prior year.   On a diluted, per-share basis, this year's loss was ($4.45) compared with ($4.42) reported in 2020.

Investment income rose in 2021 to $15.7 million from $4.0 million in the prior year, driven by the increase in the balance of invested assets.

Amortization of deferred gain on reinsurance reached $3.0 million compared with $1.8 million in 2020 due to increases in earned deferred ceding commissions along with increases in ceded premium. 

Service fee revenue was consistent at $2.3 million in 2021 from $2.0 million in 2020.   Service fee revenue consists of fee revenue generated by our wholly owned asset manager, 1505 Capital, for asset-management services provided to third-party clients.

Other revenue finished at $1.2 million compared with $0.2 million in the prior year. Increases came primarily from providing ancillary services, such as policy administration, to third parties. 

Our expenses were $41.9 million in the year compared with $21.4 million in the prior year.   Contributing to the increase was an increase in salaries and benefits from additional talent added to our staff, along with stock compensation expense.   Also contributing to the increase was an increase in other operating expenses from higher legal fees, consulting costs, and the gains on option allowance.

For annuity premiums written, we saw a slow start in the first quarter of 2022, similar to experience in the fourth quarter of last year.  We have taken pricing action on both our FIA and MYGA products in the quarter and continue to monitor our competitiveness in the market.  We have also increased our focus on marketing, re-establishing and expanding our relationships on the distribution side through various channels and reallocating or adding resources relating to this initiative.  We are starting to see some encouraging trends as we end the first quarter of 2022.

We have also prioritized expanding our state footprint as quickly as possible to become licensed in states where a significant number of retirees reside and where our IMOs are located.  We are filing, responding to, and providing increased information to regulators and discussing how the model ensures that policyholders are protected given the capital held and supported by using reinsurance structures.

Given these dynamics, we anticipate premiums written to be in the range of $500 million to $600 million for 2022.   We still expect the mix in product sales to be consistent with 2021.  This will be influenced by state expansion and the impact of efforts with distribution partners.

Based on the potential premium growth, we currently have capacity in place to cover the capital needs of writing the new business through existing reinsurers. We also have the potential to grow through potential transactions in the pipeline which are anticipated to close within the year.  The goal is to cede, on average, approximately 70-90% of premium in the year and generate ceded commission fees from them.

As we grow, managing expenses continues to be an area of focus.  We saw an increase in 2021 as we accelerated some costs to develop potential opportunities along with adding additional employees, advancing technology initiatives, and continuing to build the foundation of Midwest.  We have and continue to take steps to restructure the organization, monitor costs closely, and invest in the areas that drive growth.   We anticipate general and administrative expenses on a management basis, a non-GAAP measure, to be approximately $27-28 million for the full year 2022.

In addition to GAAP measures, Midwest's management utilizes a series of key performance indicators (KPI's) and non-GAAP measures to, among other things:

• monitor and evaluate the performance of our business operations and financial performance;
• facilitate internal comparisons of the historical operating performance of our business operations;
• review and assess the operating performance of our management team;
• analyze and evaluate financial and strategic planning decisions regarding future operations;
• plan for and prepare future annual operating budgets and determine appropriate levels of operating investments; and
• facilitate comparison of results between periods and to better understand the underlying historical trends in our business and prospects.

These non-GAAP measures are not a substitute for GAAP measures; however, management believes that when used in conjunction with the GAAP measures, the non-GAAP measures can contribute to investors' understanding of the progress of our business. Non-GAAP financial measures used by us may be calculated differently from, and therefore may not be comparable to, similarly titled measures used by other companies. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered along with, but not as alternatives to, our operating performance measures as prescribed by GAAP.

For the fourth quarter of 2021, annuity direct written premiums were $104.2 million compared with $136.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.   The written premium decline was driven by intense competition in the market around annuities and pricing along with a limited state footprint.  Reflecting the decline in new business production, ceded premiums fell to $43.8 million in 2021's fourth quarter from $50.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.  Of the fourth-quarter 2021 sales of $104.2 million, 43% was in the MYGA category and the remaining 57% consisted of sales of Fixed Indexed Annuities.

For the full year 2021, annuity direct written premiums were $471.6 million up from $415.6 million, for 2020 a 13.5% increase. Written premium growth reflects a strong first half of the year from new products while encountering a challenging sales environment in the second half of the year.   Ceded premium was $237.4 million in 2021 compared to $228.1 million in 2020. Of the 2021 sales of 26.8% was in the MYGA category and the remaining 73.2% consisted of sales of Fixed Indexed Annuities.

We use this non-GAAP figure to measure the progress of our effort to secure third-party capital to back our reinsurance programs.   Fees Received for Reinsurance sums two components: Amortization of deferred gain on reinsurance, which is a line item in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss, and deferred coinsurance ceding commission, which is a line item in our GAAP consolidated statement of cash flows.

For the fourth quarter of 2021, fees received for reinsurance totaled $2.1 million compared with $3.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.  For the full year 2021, fees received for reinsurance totaled $13.4 million compared to $12.5 million in 2020.

We monitor this figure to track our overhead.   It includes salary and benefits and other operating expenses; however, it excludes non-cash stock-based compensation and the non-cash mark-to-market-adjustment of our option budget allowance.

G&A expense in 2021 rose to $24.6 million from $12.9 million in the prior year.   The increase was to support the potential growth in the business and reflected costs incurred to attract talent, for legal and consulting to support transactions, investment structures, state expansion efforts, and technology initiatives.

We use this figure to monitor the expenses of our business on a cash basis.   Importantly, we exclude from the calculation of management expenses the index interest credited related to our Fixed Indexed Annuities because this expense is fully hedged.   Instead, we add back to Management Expenses the period's amortization of options previously purchased to provide this hedge. We view this amortized cost as our true cost of funds.   Management Expenses also excludes the mark-to-market adjustment of our option budget allowance as that is recorded as a component of other operating expense.

Management expenses for 2021 were $36.3 million compared with $15.7 million in the prior year. Principal drivers of the increase were higher interest credited and increases in expenses from retained premiums.

Certain statements contained or incorporated by reference in this release constitute forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology including "could," "may," "will," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "intend," or "continue," the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology used in connection with any discussion of future operating results or financial performance. These statements are only predictions and reflect our management's good faith present expectation of future events and are subject to a number of important factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

Factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated or projected, forecast, estimated or budgeted in such forward-looking statements include among others, the following possibilities:

• our business plan, particularly including our reinsurance strategy, may not prove to be successful;
• our reliance on third-party insurance marketing organizations to market and sell our annuity insurance products through a network of independent agents;
• adverse changes in our ratings obtained from independent rating agencies;
• failure to maintain adequate reinsurance;
• our inability to expand our insurance operations outside the 21 states and District of Columbia in which we are currently licensed;
• our annuity insurance products may not achieve significant market acceptance;
• we may continue to experience operating losses in the foreseeable future;
• the possible loss or retirement of one or more of our key executive personnel;
• intense competition, including the intensification of price competition, competitive pressures from established insurers with greater financial resources, the entry of new competitors, and the introduction of new products by new and existing competitors;
• adverse state and federal legislation or regulation, including decreases in rates, limitations on premium levels, increases in minimum capital and reserve requirements, benefit mandates and tax treatment of insurance products;
• fluctuations in interest rates causing a reduction of investment income or increase in interest expense and in the market value of interest-rate sensitive investment;
• failure to obtain new customers, retain existing customers, or reductions in policies in force by existing customers;
• higher service, administrative, or general expense due to the need for additional advertising, marketing, administrative or management information systems expenditures;
• changes in our liquidity due to changes in asset and liability matching;
• possible claims relating to sales practices for insurance products; and
• lawsuits in the ordinary course of business.

Midwest Holding has announced plans to host a conference call to discuss financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and full year 2021 on March 25, 2022, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The Company also posted those results on the investor relations section of its website at https://ir.midwestholding.com after the close of the financial markets on March 24, 2022.  

To register for this conference call, please go to this link. Registrants will receive confirmation with dial-in details. 

The call may also be accessed via webcast, using this link. 

A replay of the webcast will be made available after the call on the Investor Relations page of the Company's website at https://ir.midwestholding.com

Midwest Holding Inc. is a growing, technology-enabled, services-oriented annuity platform. Midwest designs and develops annuity products that are distributed through independent distribution channels, to a large and growing demographic of U.S. retirees. Midwest originates, manages and typically transfers these annuities through reinsurance arrangements to asset managers and other third-party investors. Midwest also provides the operational and regulatory infrastructure and expertise to enable asset managers and third-party investors to form and manage their own reinsurance capital vehicles.

For more information, please visit www.midwestholding.com

Investor contact: [email protected]

Media inquiries: [email protected]

SOURCE Midwest Holding Inc.