Primerica Q1 Sales Up 8% To $495 Million

Primerica, Inc. (PRI) today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019.

Total revenues of $495.0 million increased 8% compared to the first quarter of 2018.

Net income of $79.2 million increased 20%, while earnings per diluted share of $1.83 increased 26% compared to the same quarter last year. ROE increased from 18.5% during the first quarter of 2018 to 21.2% during the current quarter.

Adjusted operating revenues were $490.0 million, increasing 6% compared to the first quarter of 2018. Adjusted net operating income of $75.3 million increased 14%, while adjusted operating earnings per diluted share of $1.74 increased 19% compared to the same quarter last year. ROAE increased from 19.0% during the first quarter of 2018 to 20.3% during the current quarter.

Results for the quarter reflect the financial stability of the Company’s Term Life segment, including an 11% increase in adjusted direct premiums. Persistency during the first quarter of 2019 was generally consistent with the prior year’s first quarter and claims experience was in line with historical trends.

Market volatility early in the year resulted in a slower start in the Investment and Savings Products (ISP) segment, however, client asset values rebounded in late January and average client asset values declined less than half a percent compared to the first quarter of 2018.

Demand for investment products, most notably variable annuities, was robust through the last two months of the quarter and total product sales of $1.8 billion were only 1% below a very strong first quarter in 2018. Insurance and other operating expenses increased 5% due to business growth and incremental investments. The pace of investments is expected to increase as 2019 unfolds.

The Company repurchased nearly $54 million of common stock during the quarter and is on track to achieve its $225 million repurchase target for the year.

“Our quarterly financial results reflect the strength and durability of our model with revenue growth of 8% and earnings per share growth of 26%, despite weaker sales than in the prior year period,”

said Glenn Williams, Chief Executive Officer.

“The need for financial security in middle-income families has never been greater and few companies possess the distribution breadth to assist this population demographic the way we do here at Primerica.”

About Primerica, Inc.

Primerica, Inc., headquartered in Duluth, GA, provides financial services to middle-income households in North America. Primerica licensed representatives educate their clients about how to better prepare for a more secure financial future by assessing their needs and providing appropriate solutions through term life insurance, mutual funds, annuities and other financial products.

Primerica insured approximately 5 million lives and had over 2 million client investment accounts at December 31, 2018. Primerica, through its insurance company subsidiaries, was the #2 issuer of Term Life insurance coverage in North America in 2017.

Primerica stock is included in the S&P MidCap 400 and the Russell 2000 stock indices and is traded on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PRI”.