LOS ANGELES—Mercury General Corp. said Monday its profit rose about 1.8 percent in the second quarter as the auto insurer benefited from an investment gain.
Mercury General earned $70.7 million, or $1.29 per share, up from $69.51 million, or $1.27 per share, during the same period last year.
Excluding the effects of a $23.7 million investment gain, operating income in the latest quarter was $47 million, or 86 cents per share.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, had predicted earnings of 97 cents per share. Analyst estimates typically exclude one-time items.
Mercury General, which also sells homeowners insurance and other types of insurance, saw net premiums written fall more than 7 percent during the second quarter to $684.2 million from $737.4 million.
Mercury General's combined ratio rose to 97 percent from 94 percent during last year's second quarter. An insurer's combined ratio is the amount of money it pays in claims and expenses compared with the amount it receives writing premiums. A ratio above 100 percent means the insurer is paying out more than it receives from writing premiums.
The Los Angeles-based insurer's shares fell 93 cents to $49.30 in morning trading.
