Earnings Call Excerpt
Loews Corporation (L)
Q3 2009 Earnings Call
November 2, 2009 11:00 am ET
Executives
Darren Daugherty – Director of Investor Relations
James S. Tisch – Chief Executive Officer
Peter W. Keegan – Chief Financial Officer
Tim Parker – Chief Executive Officer of HighMount
Analysts
Robert Glasspiegel – Langen McAlenney
David Adelman – Morgan Stanley
Michael Millman – Millman Research Associates
Stephen Velgot – Susquehanna Financial Group
Adrian Day – Adrian Day Asset Management
Presentation
Operator
Welcome to the Loews Third Quarter 2009 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) I will now turn the call over to Darren Daugherty, Director of Investor Relations.
Darren Daugherty
Welcome to Loews Corporations Third Quarter 2009 Earnings Conference Call. A copy of the earnings release may be found on our website Loews.com. One the call this morning are Jim Tisch the Chief Executive Officer of Loews, and Peter Keegan the Chief Financial Officer of Loews.
Before we begin, I'd like to make a few brief disclosures concerning forward-looking statements. This conference call will include the use of statements that are forward-looking in nature. Actual results achieved by the company may differ materially from those projections made in any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect circumstances at the time they are made and the company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.
This disclaimer is only a brief summary of the company's statutory forward-looking statements disclaimer. We urge you to read the full disclaimer which is included in the company's filings with the SEC. I'd also like to remind you that during this call today we may discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to our security filings for reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP measures.
After Jim and Peter have discussed our results, we will have a question and answer session. If you would like to ask questions and are listening via the webcast, please use the dial in number to participate, 877-692-2592.
I'll now turn the call over to Loews Chief Executive Officer, Jim Tisch.
Jim S. Tisch
Loews reported a solid quarter reflecting improved results in CNA, continued strong results in Diamond Offshore, and higher investment income in the holding company portfolio. During the third quarter Loews' book value per common share increased by over 14%, primarily as a result of the $1.7 billion increase in the mark-to-market value of CNA's investment portfolio. What a difference a quarter makes.
CNA reported another quarter of solid operating income driven by improved investment income and low catastrophe losses. In its core property and casualty operations, CNA continues to focus on growing its specialty lines of business, as well as improving performance in its standard lines of business. CNA specialty lines continues to be the most profitable business in CNA's portfolio benefiting from diversification by product, geography, and industry class.
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