E-L Financial reaps hard market gains

E-L Financial Corp. Ltd. (TSX: ELF), parent of Dominion of Canada General Insurance Co., posted net income for 2004 of $129.9 million, or $31.93 a share. This is more than double the 2003 net income of $46.9 million, or $11.66 a share.

Significant growth came from general insurance operations, where net income reached $83.7 million last year, soaring above the $20.3 million posted in 2003. Overall, E-L brought in revenue of $1.9 billion in 2004, with the general insurance operations accounting for $1.2 billion of this.

E-L also brought in $13.4 million in gains on sale of investments in 2004, of which $12.2 million can be attributed to the general insurance operations. This compares with an $11.2 million loss on sale of investments the year prior, with the general insurance operations producing a loss of $13.3 million on sale of investments itself. Expenses for 2004 reached $1.7 billion, up from $1.6 billion in 2003, including claims, policy benefits, commissions and operating expenses across E-L’s three segments: general insurance, life insurance and portfolio investments. n