By James Thaler

May 1 - (The Insurer) – Skyward Specialty’s first quarter underwriting gain improved by 15% to $28.48 million as the Houston, Texas-based company's core loss ratio improved by 40 basis points while its gross written premium growth surged by 16.7% to $535.32 million in the quarter.

After markets closed on Thursday, Skyward reported $1.01 in adjusted diluted operating income per share, easily beating analysts’ $0.77 consensus estimate, and an increase of 12% from the $0.90 the firm earned a year ago.

The firm’s underlying combined ratio improved by 90 bps to 88.3%, but increased by the same amount on a reported basis to 90.5%.

Cat losses, largely from the California wildfires and severe convective storms, increased to $6.61 million from just under $1 million in last year’s first quarter. Skyward had no prior-year reserve development in the quarter, compared with modest favorable development a year ago.

The company’s core loss ratio improved to 60.2% from 60.6%, while its consolidated expense ratio improved by 60 bps to 28.1%.

Skyward’s GWP growth was driven by agriculture and credit (re)insurance, accident and health, and specialty programs, where GWP surged by 102.8%, 54.4% and 20.1%, respectively.

Global property GWP fell by 18.5% to $46.69 million, while professional lines top-line premium fell by 2.5% to $41.17 million.

Net investment income was essentially flat at $19.33 million, while adjusted operating income moved higher to $37.3 million from $31.0 million, as the Andrew Robinson-led firm reported 20.5% in annualized return on equity.

Book value per share in the quarter increased by 6% to $21.06.

In a statement, Skyward chairman and CEO Andrew Robinson called the first quarter results “outstanding,” while highlighting the fact that adjusted operating income in the quarter was the best in the firm’s history.

Robinson also said that Skyward continued its “consistent and strong record of growth in underwriting performance.”

“Our strong growth this quarter highlights the strength of our diversified business portfolio, with our global agriculture unit and our accident and health division each having a breakout quarter; we have highlighted these two areas as part of our intentional strategy to grow in areas less exposed to the P&C market," Robinson commented.

"As we look out to the remainder of the year, we remain confident that the strength of our diversified business portfolio, the power of our Rule Our Niche strategy, our investment in technology and talent, and our track record for consistent execution, positions us to continue to deliver strong financial results that create long-term value for our shareholders," he concluded.