LONDON, February 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
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Investor-Edge.com has issued free post-earnings review on ACE Ltd (NYSE: ACE). On January 27, 2015, the company reported its financial results for Q4 FY14 and full year FY14 (period ended December 31, 2014). Click on http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=ACE%20Ltd&d=11-Feb-2015&s=ACE to read our free earnings review on ACE Limited (ACE). Chairman and CEO of ACE, Evan G. Greenberg, stated that the company had excellent operating results for Q4 FY14 which contributed to another record year. He added that Q4 FY14 and FY14 results were driven by growth in both underwriting and investment income. Our free coverage report can be accessed at:
http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=ACE%20Ltd&d=11-Feb-2015&s=ACE
Earnings Overview
During Q4 FY14, ACE reported record net investment income of $577 million compared to $557 million in Q4 FY13. Property and casualty (P&C) net premiums written for Q4 FY14 grew 2.4% to $3.80 billion from $3.71 billion in Q4 FY13. ACE's Global P&C (excluding agriculture) net premiums written improved 3.0% Y-o-Y in Q4 FY14, whereas Agriculture's net premiums written fell 5.0% Y-o-Y in Q4 FY14. Additionally, ACE's P&C underwriting income grew 7.1% Y-o-Y to $444 million during the reported quarter. Free research on ACE can be downloaded in PDF format at:
http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=ACE%20Ltd&d=11-Feb-2015&s=ACE
In Q4 FY14, ACE's operating income, net of tax, was $827 million, or $2.47 per diluted share, compared to $824 million, or $2.39 per diluted share, in Q4 FY13. Furthermore, the company reported net income of $555 million, or $1.66 per diluted share, in Q4 FY14, compared $998 million, or $2.90 per diluted share, in Q4 FY13. Analysts from Bloomberg had expected net income of $786 million, or $2.34 per diluted share, in Q4 FY14.
The company's net investment income was $2.25 billion in FY14 as opposed to $2.14 billion in FY13. In FY14, ACE's P&C net premiums written grew to $15.79 billion from $15.05 billion in FY13. The company's P&C underwriting income grew 7.2% Y-o-Y in FY14 with 4.8% Y-o-Y growth in underwriting income from Global P&C and 52.8% Y-o-Y growth in underwriting income from Agriculture. Mr. Greenberg said the company's excellent underwriting results were driven by a particularly strong current accident year performance, which reflects the fundamental strength of the current year business.
For FY14, ACE's operating income, net of tax, was $3.32 billion, or $9.79 per diluted share, compared to $3.22 billion, or $9.35 per diluted share, in FY13. Furthermore, the company's net income for FY14 came in at $2.85 billion, or $8.42 per diluted share, in FY14, compared to $3.76 billion, or $10.92 per diluted share, in FY13. Analysts from Bloomberg had expected net income of $3.06 billion, or $9.03 per diluted share, in FY14. Sign up and read the free analyst's notes on ACE at:
http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=ACE%20Ltd&d=11-Feb-2015&s=ACE
ACE reported operating cash flow of $1.3 billion in Q4 FY14 and $4.5 billion in FY14. The company provided operating return on equity of 11.8% in Q4 FY14 and 12.0% in FY14. As of December 31, 2014, the company's book value per share and tangible book value per share were $90.02 and $72.61, respectively.
During Q4 FY14, ACE repurchased approximately 3.8 million shares for $430 million and has repurchased a total of approximately 14.5 million shares for $1.5 billion since the inception of share repurchase authorization in November 2013 through December 31, 2014.
Mr. Greenberg also informed that during Q4 FY14, ACE closed its acquisition of the large corporate P&C business of Brazil's Itaú Seguros and announced its intention to purchase the U.S. high net worth personal lines business of Fireman's Fund. These are just two of many investments ACE made last year in its future that will strengthen the company's presence and capabilities and increase its ability to produce sustainable outperformance, he added. Visit Investor-Edge and access the latest research on ACE at:
http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=ACE%20Ltd&d=11-Feb-2015&s=ACE
Stock Performance
On the day following the earnings release, January 28, 2015, ACE's stock lost 1.80% and ended the session at $109.30. Since then, the stock has moved both ways with gains outperforming losses. On the last close, Tuesday, February 10, 2015, the company's shares finished 0.20% lower at $111.75, after vacillating between $111.63 and $113.00. A total of 1.21 million shares were traded which was below its three months average volume of 1.38 million shares. Over the previous three months and past one year, the company's shares have advanced 0.22% and 17.59%, respectively. However, the stock has fallen by 1.43% in the last one month. Shares in ACE are trading above their 200-day moving average of $107.10. Furthermore, the stock traded at a PE ratio of 11.40 and has a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 50.28.
Sneak Peek to Corporate Insider Trading
In the last one month, ACE has not reported any share transactions by insiders to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Complimentary in-depth research on ACE is available at:
http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=ACE%20Ltd&d=11-Feb-2015&s=ACE
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