XL Group plc Announces Third Quarter 2015 Results

DUBLIN, Ireland, Oct. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

• Operating net income¹ of $70.8 million, or $0.23 per share, for the quarter on a fully diluted basis
• Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders and net income attributable to ordinary shareholders excluding the impact of the Life Retrocession Arrangements² of $27.3 million and $46.6 million, respectively, for the quarter
• Losses net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums related to the mid-August 2015 Tianjin, China port explosion totaled $95.7 million
• Integration costs related to the combination with Catlin Group Limited ("Catlin") totaled $55.2 million  in the quarter
• P&C combined ratio of 95.3% for the quarter, compared to 90.1% in the prior year quarter
• Natural catastrophe pre-tax losses net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums in the quarter of $30.8 million, compared to $29.8 million in the prior year quarter
• Earnings from operating and investment fund affiliates were $4.5 million, compared to $44.5 million in the prior year quarter, due primarily to equity market volatility on the hedge fund portfolio
• Annualized operating return on average ordinary shareholders' equity³ excluding and including average unrealized gains and losses on investments was 7.0% and 6.2%, respectively,  for the year to date
• Fully diluted tangible book value per ordinary share⁴ of $31.95 at September 30, 2015, a decrease of $0.58, or 1.8%, from June 30, 2015

XL Group plc ("XL" or the "Company") (NYSE: XL) today reported its third quarter results.

Commenting on the Company's performance, Chief Executive Officer Mike McGavick said:

"In its first full quarter of combined operations, XL Catlin produced solid results including a 95.3% combined ratio, gross written premiums of $2.7 billion and a P & C underwriting profit of $114.1 million. At the same time, our bottom-line results in the quarter were particularly impacted by market events and ongoing expenses related to our integration.  Our colleagues' effort to move quickly through our integration continues to be recognized by positive reaction from clients and brokers and the new opportunities we are seeing. We have absolute confidence in the fundamentals of the new company we are building and remain focused on creating value by becoming the most innovative and admired (re)insurance company in our industry and feel we are well on our way."

• Operating net income of $70.8 million for the quarter decreased compared to operating net income of $187.1 million in the prior year quarter. The current quarter includes approximately $55.2 million in integration costs as well as $30.8 million in natural catastrophe losses compared to $29.8 million in natural catastrophe losses in the prior year quarter.  
• Net income (loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders of $27.3 million for the quarter decreased compared to a  $72.4 million in the prior year quarter.
• Net investment income for the quarter was $225.1 million, compared to $226.4 million in the prior year quarter and $223.2 million in the second quarter of 2015.
• Net income from investment fund and investment manager affiliates was $2.2 million for the quarter, compared to net income of $40.4 million in the prior year quarter. The decrease was driven primarily by the impact of market volatility on our Investment Fund Affiliates with a number of event driven and emerging markets focused funds.
• Fully diluted tangible book value per ordinary share decreased by $0.58 from the prior quarter to $31.95, driven by  the increase in our unrealized losses on investments and our payment of dividends, partially offset by net income.
• Share buybacks totaled 4.8 million ordinary shares for $180.0 million during the quarter.  At September 30, 2015, $880.0 million of ordinary shares remained available for purchase under our share buyback program.

• P&C gross premiums written ("GPW") in the third quarter increased 66.1% compared to the prior year quarter following the combination with Catlin.
• The Insurance segment GPW increased 66.1% from the prior year quarter primarily due to the combination with Catlin.    Excluding the impacts of the additional Catlin business and foreign exchange,  the segment experienced an increase of 6.0%. Rates were under pressure in most lines. However, this was offset by new business, particularly in our International Financial Lines, Political Risk & Trade Credit and Cyber business lines. Renewals were reduced where premium rates did not support our target returns.
• The Reinsurance segment GPW also increased 66.1% from the prior year quarter, primarily due to the combination with Catlin. This was offset by lower renewals in North America due to a competitive pricing environment with respect to property and casualty treaty business. In addition, the prior year included favorable premium adjustments which did not repeat in the current year.
• P&C net premiums earned ("NPE") in the third quarter of $2.4 billion were comprised of $1.6 billion from the Insurance segment and $772.8 million from the Reinsurance segment.
• The P&C loss ratio in the current quarter was 1.8 percentage points higher than in the prior year quarter. Included in the P&C loss ratio was favorable development of $28.1 million compared to $35.1 million in the prior year quarter. The P&C loss ratio variance was impacted by natural catastrophe pre-tax losses net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums of $30.8 million, compared to $29.8 million in the prior year quarter. Excluding prior year development and natural catastrophe losses the third quarter P&C loss ratio was 1.2% higher than the prior year quarter, driven significantly by the Tianjin, China port explosion loss.
• The P&C combined ratio excluding prior year development and the impact of natural catastrophe losses for the quarter was 95.1%, compared to 90.4% for the prior year quarter.  The Insurance segment combined ratio on this basis was 96.3% for the quarter compared to 94.8% for the prior year quarter, while the Reinsurance segment combined ratio on this basis was 92.7% for the quarter compared to 80.1% for the prior year quarter,  with the increases in both segments, driven by the Tianjin loss and the impact of a change in business mix from the combination with Catlin.
• Excluding Catlin related transaction and integration costs,  operating expenses were 50.5% higher than the prior year quarter primarily due to the impact of the combination with Catlin. However, overall run rate expenses for the quarter continue to be less than the combined operating expenses of XL and legacy Catlin in the prior year quarter, indicating that synergy savings are already being achieved. The operating expense ratio decreased 1.0% to 17.6% in the quarter, compared to 18.6% in the prior year quarter.

Further details of the results for the quarter may be found in the Company's Financial Supplement, which is dated October 26, 2015 and is available on the Investor Relations section of XL's website.

A conference call to discuss the Company's results will be held at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, October 26, 2015. The conference call can be accessed through a listen-only dial-in number or through a live webcast. To listen to the conference call, please dial (210) 795-0624 or (866) 617-1526: Passcode: "XL GLOBAL". The webcast will be available at www.xlcatlin.com and will be archived on the website from approximately 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time on October 26, 2015, until approximately midnight Eastern Time on  November 26, 2015. A telephone replay of the conference call will also be available beginning at approximately 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time on October 26, 2015, until approximately midnight Eastern Time on November 26, 2015, by dialing (203) 369-3734 or (888) 473-0148. The following password will be required: 5670.

About XL Group plc

XL Group plc (NYSE: XL), through its subsidiaries and under the "XL Catlin" brand, is a global insurance and reinsurance company providing property, casualty and specialty products to industrial, commercial and professional firms, insurance companies and other enterprises throughout the world.  Clients look to XL Catlin for answers to their most complex risks and to help move their world forward. To learn more, visit www.xlcatlin.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about XL's beliefs, plans or expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current plans, estimates and expectations, all of which involve risk and uncertainty. Statements that include the words "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "project," "anticipate," "may," "could," or "would" and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those included in such forward-looking statements and therefore you should not place undue reliance on them. A non-exclusive list of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements includes (a) changes in the size of XL's claims relating to natural or man-made catastrophe losses due to the preliminary nature of some reports and estimates of loss and damage to date, in particular those related to the Tianjin port explosion, Chilean earthquake and 2015 US Winter Storms; (b) trends in rates for property and casualty insurance and reinsurance;  (c) the timely and full recoverability of reinsurance placed by XL with third parties, or other amounts due to XL; (d) changes in the projected amount of ceded reinsurance recoverables and the credit ratings and credit worthiness of reinsurers; (e) actual loss experience from insured or reinsured events and the timing of claims payments being faster or the receipt of reinsurance recoverables being slower than anticipated; (f) increased competition on the basis of pricing, capacity, coverage terms or other factors such as the increased inflow of third party capital into reinsurance markets, which could harm XL's ability to maintain or increase its business volumes or profitability; (g) greater frequency or severity of claims and loss activity than XL's underwriting, reserving or investment practices anticipate based on historical experience or industry data; (h) the impact of changes in the global financial markets, such as the effects of inflation on XL's business, including on pricing and reserving, increased government involvement or intervention in the financial services industry and changes in interest rates, credit spreads, foreign currency exchange rates and future volatility in the world's credit, financial and capital markets that adversely affect the performance and valuation of XL's investments, future financing activities and access to such markets or general financial condition; (i) XL's ability to successfully implement its business strategy, including the integration of Catlin; (j) XL's ability to successfully attract and raise additional third party capital for existing or new investment vehicles; (k) the potential impact on XL of government-mandated insurance coverage for acts of terrorism; (l) changes in ratings and rating agency policies or practices; (m) the potential for changes to methodologies, estimations and assumptions that underlie the valuation of XL's financial instruments that could result in changes to investment valuations; (n) changes to XL's assessment as to whether it is more likely than not that it will be required to sell, or has the intent to sell, available-for-sale debt securities before their anticipated recovery; (o) the availability of borrowings and letters of credit under credit facilities; (p) the ability of XL's subsidiaries to pay dividends to XL Group plc and XLIT Ltd.; (q) the potential effect of legislative or regulatory developments in the jurisdictions in which XL operates, such as those that could impact the financial markets or increase XL's business costs and required capital levels, including but not limited to changes in regulatory capital balances that must be maintained by our operating subsidiaries and governmental actions for the purpose of stabilizing the financial markets;  (r) the effects of business disruption, economic contraction or economic sanctions due to global political and social conditions such as war, terrorism or other hostilities, or pandemics; (s) changes in regulators or laws applicable to us or our subsidiaries, brokers or customers; (t) the actual amount of new and renewal business and acceptance of XL's products and services, including new products and services and the materialization of risks related to such products and services; (u) changes in the availability, cost or quality of reinsurance; (v) changes in the distribution or placement of risks due to increased consolidation of insurance and reinsurance brokers; (w) the loss of key personnel and changes in accounting standards, policies or practices or the application thereof; (x) changes in applicable tax laws, tax treaties or tax regulations or the interpretation or enforcement thereof; (y) the effects of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, including XL's ability to modify its internal controls over financial reporting, changes to its risk appetite and its ability realize the value or benefits expected, in each case, as a result of such transactions, including the Life Retrocession Arrangements and XL's recent acquisition of Catlin; (z) changes in general economic conditions, including new or continued sovereign debt concerns in Euro-Zone countries or downgrades of US securities by credit rating agencies, which could affect XL's financial condition, results of operations, liquidity or cash flows; (aa) developments related to bankruptcies or other financial concerns of companies insofar as they affect property and casualty insurance and reinsurance coverage or claims that XL may have as a counterparty; (bb) judicial decisions and rulings, new theories of liability or emerging claims coverage issues, legal tactics and settlement terms; and (cc) the other factors set forth in XL's reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and other documents on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. XL undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by the federal securities laws.

XL intends to use its website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Such disclosures will be included on the website in the Investor Relations section. Accordingly, investors should monitor such portions of XL's website, in addition to following its press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts.

XL Group plc
RECONCILIATION

The following is a reconciliation of XL's net income (loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders to operating net income (loss) (Note 3) and also includes the calculation of annualized return on average ordinary shareholders' equity and annualized return on average ordinary shareholders' equity excluding average unrealized gains and losses on investments, in each case based on operating net income (loss) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014.

Comment on Regulation G

XL presents its operations in the way it believes will be most meaningful and useful to investors, analysts, rating agencies and others who use XL's financial information in evaluating XL's performance.  This press release contains the presentation of (i) operating net income (loss) ("Operating Net Income"), which is defined as net income (loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders excluding: (1) net investment income - Life Funds Withheld Assets, net of tax, (2) net realized (gains) losses on investments sold - excluding Life Funds Withheld Assets, net of tax,(3) net realized (gains) losses on investments sold (including OTTI) and net unrealized (gains) losses on investments, Trading - Life Funds Withheld Assets, (4) net realized and unrealized (gains) losses on derivatives, net of tax, (5) net realized and unrealized (gains) losses on life retrocession embedded derivative and derivative instruments - Life Funds Withheld Assets, (6) share of items (2) and (4) for XL's insurance company affiliates for the periods presented, (7) foreign exchange (gains) losses, net of tax,  (8) expenses related to the Catlin acquisition, net of tax, (9) gain on the sale of our interest in our operating affiliate, ARX, and (10) the loss on the sale of life reinsurance subsidiary, XLLR, net of tax; (ii) annualized return on average ordinary shareholders' equity ("ROE") based on operating net income (loss) ("Operating ROE"); (iii) Operating ROE excluding average unrealized gains and losses on investments; (iv) annualized net income (loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders excluding the Contribution from the Life Retrocession Arrangements and (v) book value per ordinary share  (ordinary shareholders' equity divided by the number of shares outstanding at the period end date), fully diluted book value per ordinary share (book value per share combined with the dilutive impact of potential future share issues at any period end), and fully diluted tangible book value per ordinary share (calculated in the same manner as fully diluted book value per ordinary share except that goodwill and intangible assets are excluded from ordinary shareholders' equity). These items are "non-GAAP financial measures" as defined in Regulation G. The reconciliation of such measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures in accordance with Regulation G is included in this press release on page 8.

Although the investment of premiums to generate income (or loss) and realize capital gains (or losses) is an integral part of XL's operations, the determination to realize capital gains (or losses) is independent of the underwriting process.  In addition, under applicable GAAP accounting requirements, losses can be created as the result of other than temporary declines in value and from goodwill impairment charges without actual realization.  In this regard, certain users of XL's financial information, including certain rating agencies, evaluate earnings before tax and capital gains to understand the profitability of the operational sources of income without the effects of these two variables. Furthermore, these users believe that, for many companies, the timing of the realization of capital gains and the recognition of goodwill impairment charges are largely a function of economic and interest rate conditions.

Net realized and unrealized (gains) losses on derivatives, net of tax, include all derivatives entered into by XL other than certain credit derivatives and the life retrocession embedded derivative. With respect to credit derivatives, because XL and its insurance company operating affiliates generally hold financial guaranty contracts written in credit default derivative form to maturity, the net effects of the changes in fair value of these credit derivatives are excluded (similar with other companies' treatment of such contracts) as the changes in fair value each quarter are not indicative of underlying business performance.

Net investment income - Life Funds Withheld Assets, net of tax, and net realized (gains) losses on the life retrocession embedded derivative and derivative instruments - Life Funds Withheld  Assets,  have been excluded because, as a result of the Life Retrocession Arrangement, XL no longer shares in the risks and rewards of the underlying performance of the Life Funds Withheld Assets that support these retrocession arrangements.  The returns on the Life Funds Withheld Assets are passed directly to the reinsurer pursuant to a contractual arrangement that is accounted for as a derivative.  Therefore, net investment income from the Life Funds Withheld Assets and changes in the fair value of the embedded derivative associated with these life retrocession arrangements are not relevant to XL's underlying business performance. In addition, the loss on the sale of life reinsurance subsidiary, net of tax, has been excluded due to the one-time, non-operating nature of this loss.

Foreign exchange (gains) losses in the income statement are only one element of the overall impact of foreign exchange fluctuations on XL's financial position and are not representative of any economic gain or loss made by XL.  Accordingly, it is not a relevant indicator of financial performance and it is excluded.

In summary, XL evaluates the performance of and manages its business to produce an underwriting profit. In addition to presenting net income (loss), XL believes that showing operating net income (loss) enables investors and other users of XL's financial information to analyze XL's performance in a manner similar to how management of XL analyzes performance. In this regard, XL believes that providing only a GAAP presentation of net income (loss) would make it much more difficult for users of XL's financial information to evaluate XL's underlying business. Also, as stated above, XL believes that the equity analysts and certain rating agencies that follow XL (and the insurance industry as a whole) exclude these items from their analyses for the same reasons and they request that XL provide this non-GAAP financial information on a regular basis.

Operating ROE is a widely used measure of any company's profitability that is calculated by dividing annualized operating net income for any period other than a fiscal year when actual operating income is used by the average of the opening and closing ordinary shareholders' equity. XL establishes target Operating ROEs for its total operations, segments and lines of business. If XL's Operating ROE targets are not met with respect to any line of business over time, XL seeks to re-evaluate these lines. Operating ROE excluding net unrealized gains and losses on investments is an additional measure of a company's profitability that eliminates the impacts of mark to market fluctuations on a company's investment portfolio that have not been realized through sales, which XL believes provides a more consistent measure of company performance.

SOURCE XL Group plc