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• Consolidated Pretax Operating Income: $285 million, up from $237 million in 2023.

• Consolidated Combined Ratio: 92.7%, compared to 93.3% last year.

• Specialty Insurance Net Premiums Earned: Increased by 13% in the fourth quarter.

• Specialty Insurance Pretax Operating Income: $228 million, up from $195 million last year.

• Specialty Insurance Combined Ratio: 91.8%, compared to 92% last year.

• Title Insurance Premiums and Fees: Grew by 9% in the fourth quarter.

• Title Insurance Pretax Operating Income: $55 million, up from $44 million last year.

• Title Insurance Combined Ratio: 94.4%, compared to 95.5% last year.

• Net Operating Income: $227 million for the quarter, compared to $190 million last year.

• Net Operating Income Per Share: $0.90, compared to $0.69 last year.

• Net Investment Income: Increased by 10% in the quarter.

• Book Value Per Share: $22.84, an increase of 11% for the year.

• Dividends and Share Repurchases: Nearly $560 million of dividends declared and $174 million worth of shares repurchased in the quarter.

• Commercial Auto Net Premiums Written: Grew 15% in the fourth quarter.

• Workers' Compensation Net Premiums Written: Increased by about 1% in the fourth quarter.

• Title Insurance Premium and Fee Revenue: $702 million, an increase of 9% from the fourth quarter of 2023.

• Title Insurance Pretax Operating Income: $55 million, an increase of 26% over the fourth quarter of last year.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 6 Warning Sign with ORI.

Release Date: January 23, 2025

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

Positive Points

• Old Republic International Corp (NYSE:ORI) reported a significant increase in consolidated pretax operating income, rising to $285 million in Q4 2024 from $237 million in the previous year.

• The specialty insurance segment saw a 13% growth in net premiums earned during the fourth quarter, contributing to a pretax operating income of $228 million, up from $195 million last year.

• Title Insurance premiums and fees grew by 9% in the fourth quarter, achieving a pretax operating income of $55 million, an increase from $44 million in the previous year.

• The company declared a special dividend of $2 per share in the fourth quarter, reflecting a strong commitment to returning capital to shareholders.

• Net investment income increased by 10% in the quarter, driven by higher yields on the bond portfolio, with the average reinvestment rate on corporate bonds at 4.8%.

Negative Points

• The value of Old Republic International Corp (NYSE:ORI)'s total investment portfolio decreased by approximately $400 million during the quarter.

• The consolidated loss ratios benefited less from favorable development in the quarter, with a reduction to 2.9 percentage points compared to 4.7 percentage points last year.

• Unfavorable development was noted in general liability and transactional risk, leading to the decision to exit the transactional risk segment.

• The full year combined ratio for specialty insurance increased by 2 points compared to 2023, reflecting a lower level of favorable prior year loss reserve development.

• The company faced challenges in the real estate market, with 2023 and 2024 being described as difficult years, although there are signs of improvement.