AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- For the nine months
ended September 30, 2009, Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA) reported net
income of $9.3 million or $0.14 basic earnings per share of Class A
common stock and $0.09 diluted earnings per share of Class A common
stock compared to net income of $4.9 million or $0.07 per basic and
diluted earnings per share of Class A common stock for the same
period in 2008. For the three months ended September 30, 2009, the
Company earned $2.2 million or $0.04 basic and diluted earnings per
share of Class A common stock compared to a net loss of $814,000 or
($0.04) basic and diluted earnings per share for the same period in
2008. The increase in net income was due primarily to realized
gains on investments, the decrease in the fair value of the
Company's warrants and no hurricane-related casualty claims in
2009. Total revenues increased to $134.9 million for the nine
months of 2009 compared to the same period of 2008 when revenues
were $123.4 million, and increased to $44.8 million for the three
months ended September 30, 2009 from $40.2 million for the same
period in 2008. Life Insurance: Total revenues from our Life
Insurance segment increased to $89.1 million for the nine months
ended September 30, 2009 compared to $85.1 million for the nine
months ended September 30, 2008, and increased to $30.8 million for
the quarter ended September 30, 2009 from $28.8 million for the
quarter ended September 30, 2008. Premium income was $75.6 million
for the first nine months of 2009, a 4.1% increase over the same
period of 2008 when premiums were $72.6 million. Premiums in the
third quarter of 2009 increased to $25.8 million compared to $24.6
million in the third quarter of 2008. The increase resulted
primarily from strong renewal business in the international market.
Net investment income decreased slightly to $12.2 million from
$12.5 million in the prior year as a result of lower interest
yielding investments available during 2009 due to the drop in
overall market interest rates. Net investment income for the three
months decreased from $4.3 million in 2008 to $4.2 million in 2009.
Claims and surrenders increased to $30.3 million in the third
quarter of 2009 compared to $26.5 million for the same period of
2008 and increased to $10.0 million from $8.6 million for the three
months ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. These
amounts fluctuate from period to period but were within the
Company's expected range. Home Service: Total revenues from our
Home Service segment increased to $42.1 million in 2009 compared to
$38.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2008, and
also increased in the three months ended September 30, 2009 to
$13.9 million from $12.5 million during the same period in 2008.
Premium income increased primarily due to the acquisition of Ozark
National Life Insurance Company (ONLIC) which is included in the
2009 results but is not in 2008. Net investment income was flat at
$3.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2009 and
2008. However, net investment income increased to $9.4 million for
the nine months ended September 30, 2009 from $9.3 million in 2008,
which was primarily due to the increased invested assets resulting
from the acquisition of ONLIC. Claims and surrenders decreased to
$14.0 million from $15.2 million for the nine months ended
September 30, 2009 compared to 2008. For the three months ended
September 30, 2009, claims and surrenders decreased to $4.5 million
from $5.2 million during the same period in 2008, resulting from a
decrease in death benefits and casualty claims. Assets increased to
$919.8 million at September 30, 2009, compared to $832.3 million at
December 31, 2008. Stockholders' equity also increased 25.6% from
$171.5 million at December 31, 2008 to $215.5 million at September
30, 2009. When asked about life insurance industry growth
projections, LIMRA senior analyst Ashley Durham is quoted in the
Insurance News Net October 2009 magazine as saying "We forecast a
double-digit decline overall for all of 2009." According to the
magazine, so far this year individual annualized life insurance
premium has dropped 23 percent. "In contrast, Citizens, Inc. has
seen its individual life insurance premiums increase by 4.8% during
2009," commented Rick Riley, Vice Chairman and President, Citizens,
Inc. Citizens, Inc. will host a conference call to discuss its 2009
third quarter operating results at 10:00 a.m. Central Standard Time
on Friday, November 6, 2009, hosted by Rick D. Riley, Vice Chairman
and President, Kay Osbourn, Chief Financial Officer and other
members of the Citizens, Inc. management team. To participate,
please dial (888) 742-8686 and when prompted enter confirmation
code #8442219. It is recommended you dial in 3-5 minutes before the
call is scheduled to begin. A recording of the conference call will
be available on Citizens' website at http://www.citizensinc.com/ in
the Investor Information section under News Release &
Publications, immediately following the call. About Citizens, Inc.
Citizens, Inc. is a financial services company listed on the New
York Stock Exchange under the symbol CIA. The Company expects to
achieve its goal, established nearly a decade ago, to reach $1
billion in assets by the end of 2010, via the worldwide sale of
U.S. Dollar-denominated whole life cash value insurance policies,
coupled with the acquisition of other life insurance companies.
Citizens' Class A common stock closed at $6.13 on November 5, 2009.
Information herein contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
which can be identified by words such as "may," "will," "expect,"
"anticipate" or "continue" or comparable words. In addition, all
statements other than statements of historical facts that address
activities that the Company expects or anticipates will or may
occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Readers are
encouraged to read the SEC reports of the Company, particularly its
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008, its
quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and its current reports on Form 8-K,
for the meaningful cautionary language disclosing why actual
results may vary materially from those anticipated by management.
The Company undertakes no duty or obligation to update any
forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of
new information, future events or changes in the Company's
expectations. The Company also disclaims any duty to comment upon
or correct information that may be contained in reports published
by the investment community. For further information contact:
Randall H. Riley Vice President, Investor Relations 512-837-7100
CITIZENS, INC. COMPARATIVE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (In
thousands, except per share amounts) OPERATING STATEMENTS
-------------------- (Unaudited) (Unaudited) Nine Months Ended
Three Months Ended September 30, September 30, --------------
-------------- 2009 2008 2009 2008 -------------- --------------
Revenues Premiums $106,494 101,915 36,152 34,041 Net investment
income 21,733 22,487 7,413 7,543 Realized gains (losses), net 2,827
(210) 1,006 (226) Decrease (increase) in fair value of warrants
3,081 (1,674) - (1,483) Other income 796 852 273 288 --- --- ---
--- Total revenues 134,931 123,370 44,844 40,163 ------- -------
------ ------ Benefits and Expenses Insurance benefits paid or
provided: Claims and surrenders 44,254 41,663 14,494 13,855
Increase in future policy benefit reserves 28,021 24,944 10,305
10,214 Policyholders' dividends 4,742 4,590 1,827 1,636 ----- -----
----- ----- Total insurance benefits paid or provided 77,017 71,197
26,626 25,705 Commissions 25,462 25,906 8,435 8,819 Other
underwriting, acquisition and insurance expenses 21,889 21,243
6,772 7,312 Capitalization of deferred policy acquisition costs
(16,257) (16,876) (5,306) (5,712) Amortization of deferred policy
acquisition costs 11,715 11,529 4,303 3,861 Amortization of cost of
customer relationships acquired and other intangibles 2,630 2,155
946 676 ----- ----- --- --- Total benefits and expenses 122,456
115,154 41,776 40,661 ------- ------- ------ ------ Income (loss)
before Federal income tax 12,475 8,216 3,068 (498) Federal income
tax expense 3,134 3,303 820 316 ----- ----- --- --- Net income
(loss) $9,341 4,913 2,248 (814) ====== ===== ===== === Net income
(loss) applicable to common stock $6,836 3,112 2,091 (1,604) ======
===== ===== ===== Basic earnings (loss) per share of Class A common
stock $0.14 0.07 0.04 (0.04) ===== ==== ==== ==== Basic earnings
(loss) per share of Class B common stock $0.07 0.04 0.02 (0.02)
===== ==== ==== ==== Diluted earnings (loss) per share of Class A
common stock $0.09 0.07 0.04 (0.04) ===== ==== ==== ==== Diluted
earnings (loss) per share of Class B common stock $0.04 0.04 0.02
(0.02) ===== ==== ==== ==== Weighted average shares of Class A
outstanding - basic and diluted 47,177 43,121 48,441 43,198 ======
====== ====== ====== Book value per share $4.34 3.68 4.34 3.68
===== ==== ==== ==== BALANCE SHEETS -------------- (Unaudited)
September 30, 2009 December 31, 2008 ------------------
----------------- Total assets $919,820 832,276 Total invested
assets 639,518 569,252 Stockholders' equity 215,455 171,541
DATASOURCE: Citizens, Inc. CONTACT: Randall H. Riley, Vice
President, Investor Relations of Citizens, Inc., +1-512-837-7100,
Web Site: http://www.citizensinc.com/
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