Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call April 26, 2024 10:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Arash Soleimani - Chief Strategy Officer
Steve Donaghy - Chief Executive Officer
Frank Wilcox - Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Paul Newsome - Piper Sandler
Nic Iacoviello - Dowling

Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Universal First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Arash Soleimani, Chief Strategy Officer.

Arash Soleimani

Good morning. Thank you for joining us today. Welcome to our quarterly earnings call.

On the call with me today are Steve Donaghy, Chief Executive Officer; and Frank Wilcox, Chief Financial Officer.

Before we begin, please note today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements and non-GAAP financial measures. Forward-looking statements involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those statements. For more information, please see the press release and Universal's SEC filings, all of which are available on the Investors section of our website at universalinsuranceholdings.com and on the SEC's website. A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to comparable GAAP measures is included in the quarterly press release and can also be found on Universal's website at universalinsuranceholdings.com.

With that, I'll turn the call over to Steve.

Steve Donaghy

Thanks, Arash. Good morning, everyone.

It was a strong quarter, including a 29.4% annualized adjusted return on common equity and 35.4% adjusted diluted earnings per share growth year-over-year. Results were solid across the board, including profitable underwriting that was complemented by our non-underwriting operations, which is a testament to our differentiated business model. Direct premiums written growth accelerated sequentially, as policies-in-force are stabilizing following our previous underwriting initiatives.

I'm pleased to announce the completion of our 2024-2025 reinsurance renewal for our insurance entities, as our program is now fully supported and secured. We've also secured additional multi-year coverage, taking us through the 2025-2026 hurricane season and have added new, financially strong reinsurers to our existing panel of long-term partners. This achievement reflects the diligence and planning of our reinsurance team throughout the year. Program cost and coverage were consistent with our expectations, and we'll provide specific details at the end of May, as we typically do.

I'll turn it over to Frank to walk through our financial results. Frank?

Frank Wilcox

Thanks, Steve. Good morning.

Adjusted diluted earnings per common share was $1.07, up from $0.79 in the prior-year quarter. The increase mostly stems from higher underwriting and net investment income, partially offset by lower commission revenue.