Q4 2023 Global Indemnity Group LLC Earnings Call
Participants
Stephen Ries; Head of Investor Relations; Global Indemnity Group LLC
Jay Brown; Chief Executive Officer; Global Indemnity Group LLC
Thomas McGeehan; Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President - Finance; Global Indemnity Group LLC
Ross Haberman; Analyst; RLH Investments
Tom Kerr; Analyst; Zacks Small Cap Research
Presentation
Operator
Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the GBLI 2023 earnings call. I would now like to welcome Steve Ries, Head of IR to begin the call, Steve, over to you.
Stephen Ries
As a reminder, today's conference call is being recorded for serialized remarks may contain forward-looking statements. Some of the forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words, including without limitation, beliefs, expectations or estimates. We caution you that such forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by us that the future plans, estimates or expectations conference contemplated by us will in fact be achieved. Please refer to our annual report on Form 10 K and our other filings with the SEC for descriptions of the business environment in which we operate and important factors that may materially affect our results. Global nominee Group LLC is not under any obligation and expressly disclaims any such obligation to update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
It's now my pleasure to turn the call over to Mr. Jay Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Global Indemnity.
Jay Brown
Thank you, Steve. Good morning and thanks to everyone for joining us this morning for our 2023 Results Call. Before I turn it over to our CFO, Tom McGeehan to take you through a detailed synopsis of our 2023 financial results. I will provide a brief overview of the past year where we are now and where we are going after seven years on the Board of Global Indemnity. I accepted the position as CEO 16 months ago. My mandate was very straightforward, determining which businesses were working, execute a strategy to exit everything that didn't make sense and then rightsize the company expense structure to manage the business profitably and we utilize capital efficiently. These tasks were accomplished in the first 90 days and have been reported on through the last four Results Call.
We also reaffirm some simple long-term objectives that we would use to measure our insurance operations. They are one achieve a consistent combined ratio in the low 90s to grow the insurance business at a compound rate of 10% or greater, and three, to manage our expense ratio to 37% or better subject to business mix. As we announced in our earnings release this morning, we are tracking towards these objectives but fell a bit short in 2023 first, our accident year loss ratio for our ongoing business in our Pan America segment fell a couple of points short of target. As Tom will detail, this was due to the overhang in the current year from the remaining effect for the exposures in our New York habitational book of business. The good news is our exposure in terms of number of units in that book is now down 85% from its peak and 75% in the past 12 months through significant reserve strengthening on our 2019 through 2023 for the Pan-American segment was driven primarily from this exposure. Second, our growth in three of our four divisions was approximately 12%, consistent with our long-term target. In the fourth division programs, the purpose, purposeful underwriting and pricing actions we undertook resulted in a 40% reduction in the amount of business we wrote in the past year.
Third, in terms of expense management. We met our CAD budget target for the year, but still fell about 80 basis points short of our target expense ratio.
Looking at where we are now, I was very happy to see us have net income of $25 million for last year, a nice increase in book value per share and a robust and growing discretionary capital position given that we have excellent liquidity and estimate and estimate that our current discretionary capital is around $200 million. Your Board approved a 40% increase in our dividend last week. As we noted in that dividend announcement, we have now returned more than $600 million to shareholders since we went public, reflecting on our current operations, I have greater confidence now that we are well positioned with businesses that have excellent and consistent and profitable results over the past two decades.
Turning to this year and our plans and expectations for results unlike the recent patch, which was a year of restructuring, we are now focusing on both expanding our product offerings for our current customer base and beginning to deliver on our revamp of our customer facing technology platforms. Much of our past success has been achieved with customer friendly technology, but is now an absolute priority that we upgrade across the board to maintain a competitive in competitive offerings.
In terms of financial results, the most predictable component is our high yielding short duration investment portfolio. This should increase the investment income portion of our returns for shareholders by 15% in 2024. Obviously, our insurance underwriting results are much harder to forecast given the inherent variability in short-term results, but I currently expect we will continue to achieve rate and exposure changes modestly above our long-term inflation trends. As such, we would expect our 2024 accident year underwriting results to be a bit better.
Can that achieve in 2023. Given the reserve actions we took in 2023, I would expect that our calendar year results will be much closer to our accident year results in 2020 for the overall strengthening that we took of 10 million or 1.3% of our carried reserves reflects the continued strength in our reserve position as we saw in 2023, we would expect for a wholesale commercial insured tech and assumed reinsurance divisions to achieve a minimum 10% growth given new leadership and programs and a much smaller base of in-force business. We expect some growth. We're not yet sure it will hit long-term targets in 2024.
Our CAD budget for internal expenses in 2024 is consistent with last year, but the lag in earned premium through we will still be short of meeting our target of 37% expense ratio standing back and saying how this all comes together, we expect to generate positive underwriting returns and investment returns for our shareholders.
In addition to our intent to return a share of our returns to shareholders with a higher quarterly dividend. We also expect that our current estimated discretionary capital position of $200 million will increase by approximately $50 million per year over the next three years.
In summary, while we continue to make substantial progress against our longer-term goals, both the accident year and calendar year underwriting results for our continuing operations still fell a little bit short of these objectives. Most importantly, the consistent underlying profitability of our continuing book of business cements my view that better results will be forthcoming in the future.
Before I turn it over to Tom to go through his explanation of financial results, I'd like to announce that there's going to be a change in Tom's responsibilities and role at Global endemic. Tom has elected to retire as CEO effective April 1, CFO, a fair amount of extravagant, my job next system as CFO on April 1. Tom will then take on and join our Board of Directors effective on the same day and take on the role of being on our board going forward. And I'm very excited about this for Tom and I have really appreciated the time I've worked with Tom over the last now 8.59 years. But more importantly, it's always good to have somebody who knows our business as well as Tom does actually working with our Board to further develop and establish ways to create value for our shareholders.
With that, I'll turn it over to you, Tom, for your support on 2023.
Thomas McGeehan
Before I go for a start, I just wanted to say thank you to Saul Fox, our Chairman, for the rest of the Board for expressing confidence in me. I look very forward to working more closely with the Board. I'm very happy an honor to remain associated with Global Indemnity, and we'll work hard to continue to increase value to our shareholders.
So with that, let me jump into my section of the presentation. Net income for 2023 was $25.4 million compared to a net loss of $0.85 million in the comparable period in 2022. Book value per share increased from $44.87 at December 31, 2022 to $47.53 at December 31, 2023. Net income increases in the market value of the fixed income portfolio and share repurchases. All contributed to the increases in book value per share, including the $1 distribution paid to shareholders during 2023, returns to shareholders were 8.2%.
I will now discuss some of the key drivers of net income, starting with investment performance. Investment income was $55.4 million compared to $27.6 million in 2022. Actions taken in early '22 to sell longer dated securities and short duration have translated into much higher book yields. Both the yield on the fixed income portfolio is 4.05% at December 31, 2023, and its duration is 1.15 years. The average credit quality of the fixed income portfolio is double-A minus.
As a comparison at December 31, 2021. Book yield on the fixed income portfolio was 2.2% and duration was 3.2 years. In 2024, we expect our investment portfolio will generate over $800 million of cash flow as bonds mature and investment income is realized. Average book yield on investments maturing in 2024 is approximately 3.5%. In this higher interest rate environment, our portfolio was well positioned to increase. Investment are moving to underwriting, we have strong accident year results.
Accident year consolidated underwriting income was$ 14.3 million compared to $4 million in 2022. The consolidated accident year combined ratio was 97.3% compared to 99.6% in 2022. In 2023, Penn-America had an accident year underwriting profit of $18.5 million compared to an accident year underwriting profit of $13.5 million in 2022. Pan America's accident year combined ratio in 2023 was 95.1% compared to 96.6% in 2022. Excluding the poor performing New York habitational book that Jay mentioned, Penn-America is accident year combined ratio would have been 93.8%. This accident year loss ratio was 57.2% in '23 compared to 59% in 2022. Earlier in 2023, we reported that the Penn-America property book was impacted by several losses and large commercial vacant properties as 2023 progress property results improved Penn-America finished with an accident year property ratio was 53.4% compared to 58.2% in 2022.
Penn-America Wholesale Property book achieved rate increases of 10.4% and exposure change added an additional rate of 1.8% for casualty, Penn-America casualty book performs similarly to 2022. In 2023, Penn-America wholesale commercial casualty book had rate increases of 9.6% for casualty loss ratio was 59.9% in 2023 compared to 59.5% in 2022. The increase in the loss ratio was driven by the aforementioned New York habitational book.
Non-core operations had in 2023, actually had a 2023 accident year underwriting loss of $4.2 million compared to an accident year underwriting loss of $9.5 million in 2022. The drag from the non-core book will decline as the business runs off and support for this business is no longer required. Lastly, impacts from catastrophes have lessened. On a consolidated basis, total catastrophes were $17.2 million in 2023 compared to $22 million in 2022.
Moving to our calendar year underwriting results. Calendar year underwriting income was $3 million compared to $8.3 million in 2022. On a consolidated basis, loss reserves were strengthened by $9.5 million. 2022 had loss reserve releases of $8.1 million. Global Indemnity has always been prudent in setting loss reserves in 2023 kind of market strengthened reserves, $29.9 million and non-core had releases of $20.3 million. Penn-america is calendar year underwriting results were negatively impacted by adverse emergence from casualty in the 2019 through 2022 accident years the same New York book that we previously noted drove much of this increase to improved New York results rate and underwriting actions have been taken for our casualty book.
We believe rate increases are exceeding loss inflation, Pan American's wholesale casualty book cap rate and exposure rate increases of 14.7% in 2022 and 9.6% in 2023. In non-core, approximately $17 million of the $20.3 million release was from property treaties from accident years prior to 2021. Casualty releases make up the difference.
Within casualty, there were decreases and increases in prior year reserves. There was a $10.2 million increase in the 2019 to 2022 accident years, mainly related to a restaurant book that was not renewed as of March 1, 2023. No additional premium has been written or earned on that bulk since March 1, 2023. This adverse emergence was more than offset by positive emergence from other lines. Professional Lines released $7.2 million and the remainder of their releases from general liability lines booked reserves remained solidly above our actuarial indications.
Moving to net written premium in 2023, Pan America's gross written premium was $369.7 million compared to $388 million in 2022. Wholesale specialty, which focuses on Main Street small business, grew 6.9% to $234.9 million compared to $219.7 million in 2022. Price increases of 10.4% were realized for the wholesale specialty book. Our insure tech business, they can express and collectibles grew 17.9% to $48.3 million compared to $41 million in 2022.
The Vacon Express product generated $32.8 million of gross written premium in 2023, which is up 25% compared to 2022. New agent appointments helped drive this growth. In addition, a new Vacon mono-line general liability product was introduced in the third quarter of 2023. Collectibles gross written premium grew approximately 5.4% to $15.5 million. Assumed Reinsurance within Penn-America grew from $5.5 million in 2022 to $13.9 million in 2023. Organic growth from existing treaties and new treaties drove this increase programs.
Gross written premium declined to $72.5 million compared to $121.8 million in 2022. The decline in programs was primarily due to actions taken to improve underwriting income by increasing rates, adding exclusions to mitigate certain casualty losses, reducing exposures to catastrophe prone business and non-renewing underperforming business. Non-core gross written premium was $46.7 million in 2023 compared to $339.7 million in 2022. This decline was planned and the book is declining as expected.
The decline in gross written premium is mainly due to a casualty treaty that was not renewed and the sale of the farm business, which was sold in August 2022. In 2024, we expect non-core gross written premium to be less than $5 million, and we are pleased with the direction of our company, our core business is providing positive returns. Penn-america performed well with an accident year combined ratio of 95.1%. We believe rate increases are in excess of loss inflation. Capital is being freed up as the non-core book shrinks that can be used to support growth and other corporate initiatives, 96% of the portfolio is invested in fixed income investments and cash over $800 million will mature this year with a book yield of approximately 3.5%. We expect these funds will be invested at higher rates.
Thank you. We will now take your questions.
Question and Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions)
Ross Haberman, RLH Investments.
Ross Haberman
Good morning, gentlemen. How are you? Two quick questions on first one, the New York occasional book, how big is that? And what do you expect in terms of a loss in '24? And the second question is how much does look like you bought back about 300,000 shares in calendar '23, how much is left in that sub program?
Thank you.
Jay Brown
Sure. In terms of the New York Harbor. The app, it's concentrated in terms of the problem results were concentrated into two of the boroughs in New York City. The total book that we're writing will remain on the books through 2024. In other words, this year will probably be less than $3 million.
Thomas McGeehan
On the share repurchases, your authorization is up to $135 million. We do have still have a little more than $100 million that we would be authorized to repurchase.
Ross Haberman
Thank you very much.
Operator
Tom Kerr, Zacks Investment Research.
Tom Kerr
Good morning, guys. Can you hear me again, can you hear me talk about the casualty book in general, you know, besides those two issues that were highlighted, what's the general health or any other potential issue going on in the overall book?
Well, the casualty book in general Tom, we focus on one main street business, small business America. Most of the limits written are 1 million or less. There's a few that are a little bit larger than that. But that's the main the main focus of our business on. We had two particular books that we noted on this call that and we stubbed our toes just to be honest, and completely non-renewed the one and greatly downsized the offer. So the potential some adverse experience from like we incurred on a going forward from those two areas is greatly greatly mitigated the rest of the casualty book is actually performing fairly well. Again, we don't have exposures to really high limits. And again, we are worse. We're seeing loss ratios that are running as we would expect.
Stephen Ries
Yes, we've taken note that there's been a fair amount of disclosure at the end of 2020 for across the industry of different types of development in the general liability area and excluding the two books of business income Tom mentioned we haven't seen that same development in our book of business.
Okay, great. Thanks. And on the expense ratio or the 37% goal that I think you mentioned one period 2024, you kind of give more color? And then I think I missed the gist of why that wouldn't be met in 2024.
Here. We when we went through the restructuring at the beginning of 2023, we sized the staffing level and all of our internal expenses to match both what we needed to deal with the non-core book, which is running off plus the parts that would be dealing with the ongoing work on that in terms of looking at 2020 for our staff will be down modestly during the course of the year as the non-core book continues to run off by the rest of the expense base. It's probably sticking within a couple of million of what we spent in 2023. But because of the way we've written premium, our earned premium will be a bit will not grow as fast as our written premium will in 2024. So the ratio will creep up perhaps 100 basis points during the course of the year and then come back down in 2025.
Okay, got it. One more quick one on the rate increases seen in the wholesale commercial, I think there's a 10% rate increases throughout the year.
And sorry, if I missed this, but the 2024, we're still expecting the strong rate increases, correct.
Would it be at that level or lower or higher. Can you give us any color on that?
I expected it to be a bit lower. We were because of the COVID lag. We were a little bit slow off the mark in 2002, beginning of 2021, we played catch-up in 21 and 2223. We pretty much stayed level with our expectation for long-term trends, we now think we're matching that pretty well. So a combination of rate increases and exposure changes probably will be in the 6% to 7% range on exposure changes can drive that quite a bit different as the book starts to shift in terms of the size of risks that we're underwriting. But that's kind of what level we have against our long-term trends right now for, I think so I'll get back in the queue. Thank you.
Operator
We have received the question from Michael O'Brien.
Yes, could you talk about your strategy related to stock buyback given the big discount to BV. Also, do you have that TBCB number and expect?
Stephen Ries
Let me speak to the stock buyback. Our stock buyback approach has been really for reverse inquiry. We have not participated in open market purchases. The reason being for that is our volume is so small that if we went in there with any kind of ongoing program, we would distort how the market is actually pricing our stock. So we've chosen not to participate in open market. We have been approached at different points in time with blocks of shares. So which we've considered depending on where we are at that point in time, whether we could buy it back or not at that price, a lot of it depends on what we might currently be doing at that moment in time who we're talking to or what we're thinking about, so which we can't always buy back 100 or 365 days of the year.
Well, we continue to encourage people that have substantial blocks of business blocks of RC shares excuse me, mode to call Steve and we will always consider buybacks. As I think as Tom mentioned, we still have $100 million available under our buyback program, and we certainly would entertain any any sizable blocks of stock at the current price?
Yes.
Regarding your tangible book value per share question, I didn't compute the exact value before I came on this call, but we don't have much in the way of goodwill or intangibles on our balance sheet round numbers, we have 649 million of equity. Our goodwill and intangibles, roughly 19 million, which round numbers, that's about $1.50 per share. So goodwill and <unk> intangibles are really, yes, not not that big of a drag on our overall book value.
Operator
Our next question comes from the line of Ross Haberman with RLH. investments. Please go ahead.
Thanks.
Thanks for taking the call again. In terms of the corporate and overhead expenses, could you tell us how much of the 23 and $20.4 million would you say is nonrecurring or less recurring made maybe related to your in your merger negotiations and whatever light you might be able to shed on why that that's not or why that fell apart?
Okay. Well, spread on a normal year, we would expect our corporate expenses to be 18 to $20 million. Nothing fell apart in the last two years. Our corporate expenses have been in that low 20, some million range a year ago. We in 2022, we sold our farm business and incurred expenses for that this year. Early in the year, we had some restructuring charges and really most of what you're seeing this year is one-time charges as we reposition the business to move ahead.
Stephen Ries
In terms of falling apart, I am assuming you were asking a question why we didn't complete any kind of a transaction. And the reality is very simple. We did not achieve a price indication that matched our expectation of what we thought was the right decision for our shareholders with a with a shareholder that owns over 40% of the stock. That's a fairly easy decision process of it. We made it a number that that saw Fox and Fox Paine Field as acceptable. We of course, would then go and engage in a transaction, but we have not yet achieved that.
Thank you for that.
Operator
Again. As a reminder, the floor is now open for your questions to ask a question at this time, simply press the star followed by the number one, your telephone keypad. You may also submit a question via webcast by clicking the Q&A button to the bottom right of the page and clicking submit.
And we do have a question from Michael O'Brien.
Stephen Ries
He asks are you 13 for a new CFO to answer that is now Tom and I have been discussing for the past six months, the timing of what would be the right time for him to make the transition from being our CFO to becoming a board member. We are extremely fortunate to have Brian Reilly, who has been a member, a senior member of the senior member underneath Tom and our finance department for the last 18 years old and who will be taking on the role of CFO on April first. So that is not going to involve the external search at this at this point, obviously, since we are very happy to have an internal candidate to take on that role.
Operator
This concludes today's question and answer session. I would now like to turn the call over to Steve Rees for closing remarks.
Stephen Ries
But here again, Monday, once again, if you have questions, you may reach out to me and we look forward to speaking with you in next quarter.
Operator
This concludes today's call. You may now disconnect.
