Essent profits up for full year and Q4 2019

Essent Group’s chairman and CEO hailed a strong set of financial results for both the full year and Q4 2019, with a favourable operating environment helping it deliver profits that were up year on year for both periods.

Essent generated net profit of $555.7 million for the full year in 2019, up from $467.4 million in 2018. For Q4 it generated a profit of $147 million, compared to $128.5 million in Q4 2018.

It reported net premiums written of $760.8 million in 2019, up from $685.3 million the previous year. The figure was also up on a quarterly basis, with net premiums written of $196.5 million in Q4 2019, having been $176.4 million the previous year.

For the full year its combined ratio was 25.5 percent, inching up from 25 percent the previous year. For Q4 it was 25.1 percent, up from 22.2 percent in Q4 2018.

Mark Casale, chairman and chief executive officer, also welcomed the Moody’s decision to upgrade its financial strength rating to A3. “This upgrade is a validation of our progress in making Essent a stronger and more sustainable franchise through the programmatic use of reinsurance,” he said.

Essent will pay a quarterly cash dividend of $0.16 per common share on March 20, to shareholders of record on March 10.