MKL Markel Group Inc

RICHMOND, Va., July 31, 2024 /CNW/ -- Markel Group Inc. (NYSE: MKL) today reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2024. The Company also announced today it filed its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2024 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Markel Group aspires to build one of the world's great companies and deploys three financial engines in pursuit of this goal: Insurance, Investments and Markel Ventures.

"Our Insurance engine continued to make steady progress in the second quarter," said Tom Gayner, Chief Executive Officer. "Insurance results included notably strong performance in our international operations, and it is encouraging to see that the corrective actions we've taken since the end of last year, particularly within our professional and general liability insurance product lines, are beginning to bear fruit. Markel Ventures continues to impress, turning in strong growth in operating income despite softening market conditions, and our net investment income continues to grow. In late June, we welcomed Valor Environmental to our Markel Ventures family of companies, bringing the Ventures engine to twenty businesses that contribute to the financial and cultural strength of Markel Group. As we look to the future, we continue to see opportunities to help our shareholders, customers and associates win."

The following table presents summary financial data, by engine, for the quarters and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023.

Highlights of results from the quarter and six months:

• All three engines contributed to a 5% increase in operating revenues in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023. The decrease in operating revenues and operating income in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the same period of 2023 was driven primarily by changes in mark-to-market movements within our Investments engine.
• In the second quarter of 2024, our Investments engine was negatively impacted by unfavorable market value movements within our equity portfolio. Despite unfavorable movements in the second quarter, we benefited from overall favorable market value movements within our equity portfolio in the first half of 2024. Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) require that we include unrealized gains and losses on equity securities in net income. This may lead to short-term volatility in revenues and operating income that temporarily obscures our underlying operating performance.
• Net investment income within our Investments engine increased 31% and 34% for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2024, respectively, reflecting higher interest rates and increased investment holdings in 2024 compared to 2023.
• Our Markel Ventures engine grew operating revenues and income for both the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2024 driven by strong growth and performance across many of our products businesses.
• Revenue growth in our Insurance engine for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2024 was primarily attributable to higher earned premiums, particularly within our international business, driven by new business growth and more favorable rates on select lines of business.
• The higher combined ratio for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2024 was primarily attributable to higher attritional loss ratios on our U.S. professional liability and general liability product lines, including significant losses on the our recently discontinued intellectual property collateral protection insurance product, partially offset by the impact of more favorable development on prior years loss reserves in 2024 compared to 2023. For the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2024, the consolidated combined ratio included $56.4 million (2.7 points) and $96.8 million (2.3 points), respectively, of losses on our intellectual property collateral protection insurance product line.

We believe our financial performance is most meaningfully measured over longer periods of time, which tends to mitigate the effects of short-term volatility and also aligns with the long-term perspective we apply to operating our businesses and making investment decisions. The following table presents a long-term view of our performance.

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A copy of our Form 10-Q is available on our website at mklgroup.com or on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.  Readers are urged to review the Form 10-Q for a more complete discussion of our financial performance. Our quarterly conference call, which will involve discussion of our financial results and business developments and may include forward-looking information, will be held Thursday, August 1, 2024, beginning at 9:30 a.m. (Eastern Time). Investors, analysts and the general public may listen to the call via live webcast at ir.mklgroup.com. The call may be accessed telephonically by dialing (888) 660-9916 in the U.S., or (646) 960-0452 internationally, and providing Conference ID: 4614568. A replay of the call will be available on our website approximately one hour after the conclusion of the call. Any person needing additional information can contact Markel Group's Investor Relations Department at IR@markel.com. 

Supplemental Financial Information
The following table presents the components of our Insurance engine operating income.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Consolidated segment operating income is a non-GAAP financial measure as it represents the total of the segment operating income from each of our operating segments and excludes items included in operating income. Consolidated segment operating income excludes amortization of acquired intangible assets and goodwill impairments arising from purchase accounting as they do not represent costs of operating the underlying businesses. The following table reconciles operating income to consolidated segment operating income.

About Markel Group
Markel Group Inc. is a diverse family of companies that includes everything from insurance to bakery equipment, building supplies, houseplants, and more. The leadership teams of these businesses operate with a high degree of independence, while at the same time living the values that we call the Markel Style. Our specialty insurance business sits at the core of our company. Through decades of sound underwriting, the insurance team has provided the capital base from which we built a system of businesses and investments that collectively increase Markel Group's durability and adaptability. It's a system that provides diverse income streams, access to a wide range of investment opportunities, and the ability to efficiently move capital to the best ideas across the company. Most importantly though, this system enables each of our businesses to advance our shared goal of helping our customers, associates, and shareholders win over the long term. Visit mklgroup.com to learn more.

Cautionary Statement
Certain of the statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs, plans or expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on our current plans, estimates and expectations. There are risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by such statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ are often presented with the forward-looking statements themselves. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ from those predicted are set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, including under "Business Overview," "Risk Factors," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," "Safe Harbor and Cautionary Statement," and "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk," and in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, including under "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," "Safe Harbor and Cautionary Statement," and "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk". We assume no obligation to update this release (including any forward-looking statements) as a result of new information, developments, or otherwise. This release speaks only as of the date issued.

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SOURCE Markel Group