(Reuters) – Insurer Assurant Inc sailed past Wall Street estimates for profit in the second quarter on Tuesday, on the back of growth in its global housing unit and higher investment income.
Shares of the company rose 1.1% in extended trading, after results. The stock is up roughly 8% year-to-date, through the previous close.
The company’s global housing segment, which offers lender-placed insurance, multi-family housing and mortgage services, saw adjusted EBITDA surge 153% in the quarter to $154.6 million, driving the market-beating earnings report.
Meanwhile, investment returns at major insurers have also rebounded this year as jitters around a looming economic downturn and rising interest rates subside, driving a rally across Wall Street’s main indexes.
Net investment income climbed to $112.9 million in the second quarter ended June 30, compared with $92 million last year.
The company reported net earned premiums of $2.34 billion in the quarter, up from $2.17 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Net income in the quarter surged to $156.3 million, up from $52.2 million a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Assurant reported a profit of $3.89 per share in the second quarter, easily surpassing analysts’ estimates of $2.57 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
“We resumed share repurchases in the second quarter and expect to continue share repurchase activity for the remainder of the year, as we generate strong cash flows,” CEO Keith Demmings said.
Total revenue in the quarter rose to $2.73 billion, from $2.51 billion a year earlier.
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
