American Financial (AFG) - 2024 Q1 - Quarterly Results

Financial Performance - American Financial Group reported Q1 2024 net earnings of $242 million ($2.89 per share), up from $212 million ($2.49 per share) in Q1 2023, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 14.1%[1] - Net earnings for the first quarter of 2024 were $242 million, compared to $212 million in the first quarter of 2023, reflecting an increase of 14.2%[35] - Diluted earnings per share rose to $2.89 for Q1 2024, compared to $2.49 for Q1 2023, marking a 16.1% increase[35] - Core net operating earnings for Q1 2024 were $231 million ($2.76 per share), down from $247 million ($2.89 per share) in Q1 2023, indicating a decrease of 6.5%[2] - Core net operating earnings for the first quarter of 2024 were $231 million, down from $247 million in Q1 2023, a decrease of 6.5%[41] Revenue and Premiums - For the three months ended March 31, 2024, total revenues increased to $1,906 million, up from $1,740 million in the same period of 2023, representing a growth of 9.5%[35] - Gross and net written premiums increased by 8% in Q1 2024 compared to the prior year, driven by additional crop premiums from the Crop Risk Services acquisition and favorable renewal rates[11] - Gross written premiums in the Specialty P&C operations reached $2,336 million, an 8% increase from $2,155 million in the same quarter last year[38] - The Specialty Financial Group reported a 26% increase in gross written premiums in Q1 2024, primarily driven by growth in the financial institutions business[19] Investment Performance - The annualized return on equity (ROE) for Q1 2024 was 21.2%, compared to 18.9% in Q1 2023, showing an improvement of 1.3 percentage points[1] - The annualized return on alternative investments was approximately 9.0% for Q1 2024, down from 14.2% in the prior year quarter[21] - AFG recorded net realized gains of $11 million ($0.13 per share) in Q1 2024, compared to net realized losses of $37 million ($0.42 per share) in Q1 2023[22] Operational Metrics - The Specialty P&C insurance operations achieved a combined ratio of 90.1% in Q1 2024, slightly higher than the 89.2% reported in Q1 2023[10] - The combined ratio for the Specialty Group was 90.1% for Q1 2024, slightly higher than 89.2% in Q1 2023[38] - The loss and LAE ratio for the Specialty Group was 58.6% for Q1 2024, compared to 57.0% in Q1 2023[38] Shareholder Returns and Capital Management - AFG plans to return capital to shareholders through regular and special cash dividends and opportunistic share repurchases while seeking organic growth and acquisition opportunities[9] - AFG's book value per share was $50.57 at March 31, 2024, with a growth of 5.6% when including dividends for the quarter[3] - Shareholders' equity at March 31, 2024, was $4,240 million, down from $4,258 million at December 31, 2023[35] Upcoming Events - The company will hold a conference call to discuss the first quarter results on May 2, 2024, at 11:30 a.m. (ET)[28]