Glacier Group Names Hart New CEO; Posts $30.7 Million Q3 Results

The Swiss-based Glacier Group has announced the appointment of Todd Hart as Chief Executive Officer, with immediate effect. He had been serving as a nonexecutive director on the Group’s board, representing HBK Capital Management, one of Glacier’s founding shareholders.

Hart “led the Insurance Group at HBK and has been involved in Glacier Group since its inception in late 2004,” said the bulletin. He replaces Robbie Klaus, who has resigned from his position as CEO, but “will continue to support the Group as a consultant.”

Chairman Will Rose commented: “On behalf of the entire board of directors I would like to thank Robbie for his leadership and many contributions to the creation and development of the Glacier Group.

“I would also like to congratulate Todd Hart on his appointment as the Chief Executive Officer. As a board member for five years, Todd’s intricate knowledge of the Group, its people and its culture makes him ideally placed to lead our business.”

Glacier Group also reported the following “key financial figures” for the third quarter:
— Gross written premiums of $66.1 million during Q3 (2009 YTD – $380.1 million)
— Net income before tax of $56.7 million YTD
— Net technical result for the quarter of $30.7 million (2009 YTD – $64.0 million), reflecting a strong underwriting performance through Q3 and YTD
— A net loss ratio of 61.3 percent and net technical combined ratio of 78.1 percent
— The Group’s investment portfolio generated $11.4 million of income from interest and realized gains during the quarter (2009 YTD – $25.3 million) for an annualized return of 4.6 percent
— Total investments and cash have increased to $973.8 million (30 June 2009: $887.3 million) highlighting the strong positive cash flow of the company during the quarter
— Total shareholders’ equity now stands at $ 551.7 million delivering an annualized return on equity of 15.0 percent

CFO Glenn Campbell described the results an “excellent first half” and a “strong performance” that has “continued through the third quarter. Both our insurance and reinsurance underwriting operations have performed well and the Group has further benefited from a relatively benign claims environment and a strong investment performance. In line with our results year to date, we maintain an excellent level of risk adjusted capitalization.

“We remain positive in our outlook for Q4 and in to 2010, where we continue to see opportunities in Specialty business, particularly in our core European markets.”

Source: Glacier Group – www.glaciergroup.com