Ambac Financial Group Inc (AMBC) Q3 2024 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue Growth Amidst ...

In This Article:

  • Net Loss: $28 million or 63 per diluted share for Q3 2024.

  • Adjusted Net Loss: $19 million or 46 per diluted share for Q3 2024.

  • Total Premium Production: $611 million for the first three quarters, a 68% increase over the prior year.

  • Specialty P&C Premiums: $260 million in Q3 2024, an 86% increase over last year.

  • EBITDA: $2.4 million for Q3 2024, with an EBITDA margin of 10.2%.

  • Revenue Growth: Total revenue increased by 64% to $24 million in Q3 2024.

  • Net Revenue: Grew 135% to $14 million compared to Q3 2023.

  • Loss Ratio: Improved to 74.4% in Q3 2024 from 78% in Q3 2023.

  • Expense Ratio: 26.1% in Q3 2024, down from 28.5% in the prior year quarter.

  • Combined Ratio: 100.5% for Q3 2024, an improvement of 600 basis points from the prior year.

  • Shareholders' Equity: $1,470 million or $30.89 per share as of September 30, 2024.

  • Adjusted Book Value: $1,390 million or $29.28 per share as of September 30, 2024.

Release Date: November 13, 2024

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

  • Ambac Financial Group Inc (NYSE:AMBC) reported a significant increase in premium production, with a 68% rise over the prior year period, totaling $611 million for the first three quarters.

  • The acquisition of Beat contributed positively, adding $64 million in premiums to the third quarter results.

  • Everspan's underwriting profitability improved, with a focus on scale diversification and proactive underwriting actions.

  • The company is launching a $50 million share buyback program, indicating confidence in its financial position.

  • Ambac Financial Group Inc (NYSE:AMBC) is on track to transform into a specialty P&C franchise, with the sale of its legacy financial guarantee business nearing completion.

Negative Points

  • Ambac Financial Group Inc (NYSE:AMBC) reported a net loss of $28 million for the third quarter of 2024, compared to a net income of $66 million in the same period of 2023.

  • The results were impacted by $17 million in legal and advisory expenses related to acquisitions and pending sales.

  • The legacy financial guarantee business generated a net loss of $13 million, primarily due to lower loss reserve discount rates.

  • Short-term financing costs and startup expenses further affected the financial results, with $3.8 million and $1.3 million incurred respectively.

  • Foreign exchange losses amounted to $1.4 million, impacting the overall financial performance.

Q & A Highlights

Q: For your Everspan business, you talked about the combined ratio being a little above 100. Is your goal to keep that below 100, and what does that translate into in terms of returns, ROE within Everspan? A: Thanks, Mark. In the short term, we're looking to get that combined ratio below 100. Longer term, we're aiming for a combined ratio closer to 90, which should translate to mid-teen ROEs.