Progressive Corp. November Net Profit Down 42% - Update

Wednesday, The Progressive Corp. (PGR), a provider of insurance to personal and commercial auto drivers, reported a 42% decline in net income for November 2009, despite a growth in net premium written and net premium earned.

The insurance provider's net income for November 2009 plunged to $80 million or $0.12 per share from $137.5 million or $0.20 per share in the year-ago period.

Net premium written for the month was $942.1 million, up 2% from $926.9 million in the year ago period. Investment income for the month amounted to $41.4 million.

Net premium earned for the month increased 1% to $1.06 billion from $1.05 billion in the prior year period.

Total pretax net realized gains on securities including net impairment losses declined 94% to $6.1 million from $100.1 million year-ago.

Progressive Corporation's combined ratio for November fell 1.6 pts to 92.2 points from 93.8 points in the year-ago period.

Year-to-date, net income surged multi-fold to $939.2 million from $53.2 million in the same period last year. Earnings per share rose 1669% to $1.40 from $0.08 per share in the corresponding period last year.

Net premiums written increased 1% to $12.85 billion from $12.70 billion in the year-ago period. Investment income declined 22% to $457.8 million from $590.4 million in the prior year period.

Net premium earned for the year-to-date period advanced to $12.69 billion from $12.58 billion in the same period of the previous year. Net realized gains were $7.4 million compared to a loss of $1.197 billion in the year-ago period.

PGR is currently down $0.03 or 0.18% and trades at $16.73.

by RTTNews Staff Writer

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