Crawford & Company reports net income attributable to shareholders rises to US$36.0 million in 2016 compared to loss in 2015

Atlanta-based Crawford & Company posted net income attributable to shareholders for both the full year and fourth quarter of 2016 – reaching about US$7.8 million and about US$36.0 million – compared to losses in the prior-year periods.

Net income attributable to shareholders of Crawford & Company was US$7.8 million in the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2016 compared to a loss of about US$51.7 million in the same quarter of 2015, notes a statement Monday from Crawford & Company, a provider of claims management solutions to insurance companies and self-insured entities.

For the full year, net income attributable to shareholders was just shy of US$36.0 million in 2016 compared to a loss of approximately US$45.5 million, reports Crawford & Company, whose global network serves clients in more than 70 countries.

As for consolidated operating earnings, again the results improved for both 2016 and Q4 2016.

These amounted to about US$20.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to almost US$19.0 million in the prior-year quarter. For year end, consolidated operating earnings reached US$92.1 million in 2016 compared to US$70.4 million in 2015.

With regard to revenues before reimbursements, these amounted to US$272.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to US$284.9 million for the same period in 2015. As for the full year, revenues before reimbursements were US$1.109 billion in 2016 compared US$1.170 billion in 2015.

By segment, Crawford & Company reports that revenues before reimbursements for U.S. Services were US$57.4 million in 2016 Q4, a 1% hike from US$56.8 million in 2015 Q4. For the full year, revenues before reimbursements decreased 5% to US$231.2 million in 2016 compared with US$242.5 million in 2015.

The segment’s operating earnings were US$7.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to US$7.9 million in the prior-year quarter. For the year, operating earnings increased to US$35.7 million in 2016, up from US$32.7 million in 2015.

Looking at the International segment, Crawford & Company has posted revenues before reimbursements of US$117.5 million in 2016 Q4 compared to US$124.9 million in 2015 Q4, a decrease the company attributes primarily to “changes in foreign exchange rates, which negatively impacted revenues by approximately 4%, or US$6.1 million, in the period.”

For all of 2016, revenues before reimbursements amounted to US$479.9 million compared to US$506.7 million in 2015. Again, the company cited “changes in foreign exchange rates of 6% or US$29.6 million in 2016 compared with 2015.”

With regard to operating earnings in the International segment, these were US$11.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to US$7.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. “The segment’s operating margin was 10% in the 2016 period compared with 6% in the 2015 period,” the company statement notes.

For the full year, operating earnings amounted to US$42.5 million in 2016 compared to US$18.8 million in 2015, “representing operating margins of 9% in 2016 compared with 4% in 2015,” it adds.

As for the Broadspire segment, revenues before reimbursements were US$74.0 million in the 2016 Q4, down from US$75.4 million in the 2015 Q4.

For the full year, revenues before reimbursements increased 3% to US$302.0 million in 2016 compared to US$293.0 million in 2015.

For operating earnings, the segment posted US$6.5 million in 2016 Q4 compared to US$7.0 million in the prior-year quarter. For 2016, operating earnings were US$30.0 million in 2016 compared to US$24.0 million in 2015.

And for the Garden City Group, revenues before reimbursements were US$23.6 million in 2016 Q4 compared to US$27.7 million in 2015 Q4, while operating earnings for the quarter were US$1.3 million compared to US$1.7 million.

As for the year, the segment’s revenues before reimbursements amounted to US$96.2 million in 2016 compared to US$128.2 million in 2015, while operating earnings were US$7.8 million in 2016 compared to US$11.5 million in 2015.

Other results include the following:

• consolidated operating earnings were 8.3% of revenues in 2016, up from 6.0% of revenues in 2015;
• consolidated operating earnings were 7.4% of revenues in 2016 Q4 compared to 6.7% of revenues in the same period of 2015;
• consolidated adjusted EBITDA was US$126.2 million or 11.4% of revenues in 2016, up from US$107.2 million or 9.2% of revenues in 2015;
• consolidated adjusted EBITDA was US$29.1 million or 10.7% of revenues in 2016 Q4 compared with US$28.4 million or 10.0% of revenues in 2015 Q4; and
• net cash provided by operating activities reached a record of US$98.9 million in 2016, increasing 60% over 2015.

Citing its acquisition of a majority interest in WeGoLook, LLC, this provides Crawford & Company “an economical, high-quality, customized, fast and efficient inspection service that addresses the needs of a variety of subsectors within our industry,” says Harsha Agadi (pictured left), chief executive officer of Crawford & Company.

Related: Crawford & Company finalizes majority acquisition of WeGoLook

“Importantly, this acquisition further expands our presence into adjacent markets and is intended to reduce the company’s dependence on severe weather, positioning Crawford to deliver more predictable financial results and revenue growth over time,” Agadi notes in the statement.

“2016 was a year of great progress as we delivered improved financial results and took significant steps to prepare Crawford for the challenges that lie ahead,” he reports. “Furthermore, some of the revenue headwinds that we have experienced, such as the run-off of large projects in our Garden City Group segment, are set to ease as we enter 2017,” Agadi points out.

“We will build on this momentum, and our focus will remain on generating organic growth while maintaining our cost vigilance,” he says, adding it will “strive to unleash the company’s global potential and transform our business for the future.”

Related: Crawford & Company reports net income of US$10.9 million in Q3 2016 compared to net loss of US$0.9 million in Q3 2015