UPDATE 1-Harleysville Q2 operating earnings trail Street view
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Aug 4 (Reuters) - Property and casualty insurer Harleysville Group Inc (HGIC.O) reported a 65 percent drop in quarterly operating income, missing analysts' estimates, hurt by catastrophe losses.
For the second quarter, the company reported net income of $9.4 million, or 31 cents a share, compared with $26.4 million, or 82 cents a share, a year ago.
The company's net operating earnings were 31 cents a share, compared with 81 cents last year. Catastrophe losses incurred during the latest second quarter hurt operating income by 55 cents a share after taxes.
Analysts were expecting the company to earn 35 cents a share, before special items, according to Reuters Estimates.
"We were impacted by 14 catastrophes, the highest number of severe weather events to affect our operating territories during one quarter in Harleysville Group's history as a public company, which dates back to 1986," Chief Executive Michael Browne said.
Premiums earned rose 11 percent to $229.8 million.
Harleysville's combined ratio, which is the percentage of premiums an insurer has to pay out in claims and expenses, was 107.8 percent in the second quarter, compared with 97.2 percent a year ago. A lower combined ratio is better.
Shares of the company closed at $36.36 Monday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Ratul Ray Chaudhuri in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak Kannan)
