Amerisafe Inc., a DeRidder-based writer of high hazard workers’ compensation insurance, says its fourth-quarter profit fell 69% due to $13.4 million in realized capital losses. Net income for the quarter dropped to $5.7 million, or 28 cents per share, compared with earnings of $18.6 million, or 92 cents per share, during the same quarter a year earlier. Operating income, which excludes realized capital losses, totaled $19.1 million, or 94 cents per share, during the final three months of 2008. Amerisafe’s operating income during the final quarter of 2007 was $18.6 million, or 92 cents per share.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, forecast earnings of 57 cents per share for the quarter. Analysts do not always include special charges and gains in their estimates. For the full year, Amerisafe’s profit slipped to $43.8 million, or $2.15 per share, from $50.2 million, or $2.47 per share, in 2007.
