Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call May 3, 2024 10:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Phil Stefano - IR
Mark Casale - Chairman & CEO
David Weinstock - CFO
Christopher Curran - President, Essent Guaranty

Conference Call Participants

Terry Ma - Barclays
Doug Harter - UBS
Soham Bhonsle - BTIG
Melissa Wedel - J.P. Morgan
Mihir Bhatia - Bank of America
Bose George - KBW

Operator

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Essent Group Limited First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers’ remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] Thank you.

I'd now like to turn the call over to Phil Stefano, Investor Relations. You may begin.

Phil Stefano

Thank you, Rob. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our call. Joining me today are Mark Casale, Chairman and CEO; and David Weinstock, Chief Financial Officer. Also on hand for the Q&A portion of the call is Chris Curran, President of Essent Guaranty.

Our press release, which contains Essent's financial results for the first quarter of 2024 was issued earlier today and is available on our website at essentgroup.com. Our press release includes non-GAAP financial measures that may be discussed during today's call. A complete description of these measures and the reconciliation to GAAP may be found in Exhibit O of our press release.

Prior to getting started, I would like to remind participants that today's discussions are being recorded and will include the use of forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially.

For a discussion of these risks and uncertainties, please review the cautionary language regarding forward-looking statements in today's press release, the risk factors included in our Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 16, 2024, and any other reports and registration statements filed with the SEC, which are also available on our website.

Now, let me turn the call over to Mark.

Mark Casale

Thanks, Phil, and good morning, everyone. Earlier today, we released our first quarter 2024 financial results. Our results continue to benefit from the favorable credit performance of our insured portfolio and the impact of higher rates on both persistency and investment earnings.

Given the state of the economy and higher rates, we are encouraged by the resilience of housing and the labor market. Over the longer term, our view remains constructive. We believe that improvement in supply-demand imbalances, along with favorable demographics will continue to support housing growth, which is positive for our franchise.