Crawford reports highest quarterly earnings since 2001

Crawford & Company (NYSE: CRDA and CRDB) reported a 2008 Q1 net income of US$9.1 million, an increase of US$5.8 million over the same period of last year.
The company’s U.S. property and casualty operations reported revenues of US$49.5 million in 2008 Q1, compared to revenues of US$51 million in 2007 Q1, a company statement says.
Revenues generated by the company’s catastrophe-adjusted group were US$1.9 million in both the 2008 and 2007 Q1s.
Its international operations reported revenues of US$8.99 million for the first quarter, marking an increase from 2007 Q1’s US$3.96 million.
“Our first quarter 2008 operating results reflect strong performance despite a difficult U.S. economic environment,” Jeffrey T. Bowman, CEO of Crawford & Company, said in a release. “Our consolidated revenues before reimbursements improved by nearly 5% on the strength of our international business.”
Bowman attributed the income growth to “strong cost reduction initiatives that were implemented in 2007.” He noted it is the highest quarterly earnings the company has generated since 2001 Q2.
“Despite challenging macro trends in the U.S. property and casualty and workers’ compensation markets, our outlook for 2008 is for a significant improvement in consolidated operating results over 2007 even on modest overall sales gains, as we focus on improving our efficiency,” Bowman added.