PGR Progressive Corporation

By Colin Kellaher

Progressive Corp. (PGR) on Wednesday posted second-quarter earnings that handily beat Wall Street's expectations.

The Mayfield Village, Ohio, insurance provider reported net income of $979.4 million, or $1.66 a share, for the quarter, up 39% from $704.2 million, or $1.19 a share, a year earlier.

Analysts polled by FactSet, on average, were expecting a profit of $1.35 a share.

Progressive said net premiums written rose 13% to $9.13 billion, while net premiums earned rose 16% to $8.82 billion.

The company recorded pretax net realized gains on securities of $179.9 million for the quarter, compared with $32.8 million a year earlier.

Progressive said its combined ratio, a measure of claims against premiums, fell to 90.4% in the quarter from 90.9% in the year-ago period.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 17, 2019 08:47 ET (12:47 GMT)

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