International General Insurance Holdings Ltd (IGIC) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day and welcome to the International General Insurance Holdings Limited's fourth quarter and full year 2022 financial results conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Robin Sidders, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

大家好，歡迎參加國際財產保險控股有限公司 2022 年第四季度和全年財務業績電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意此事件正在被記錄。我現在想將會議交給投資者關係主管 Robin Sidders。請繼續。

Thank you and good morning and welcome to today's conference call. Today we will be discussing our fourth quarter and full year 2022 results. You will have seen our press release, which we issued after the market closed yesterday. If you'd like a copy of the press release, it's available on the investor section of our website at iginsure.com. We also posted a supplementary investor presentation, which can be found on our website on the Presentations page in the Investors section.

謝謝大家，早上好，歡迎參加今天的電話會議。今天我們將討論 2022 年第四季度和全年業績。您將會看到我們昨天收市後發布的新聞稿。如果您需要新聞稿的副本，可以在我們網站 iginsure.com 的投資者部分獲取。我們還發布了補充投資者演示文稿，您可以在我們網站的“投資者”部分的“演示文稿”頁面上找到該演示文稿。

With me on today's call are Wasef Jabsheh, Chairman and CEO of IGI, Waleed Jabsheh, President, and Pervez Rizvi, Chief Financial Officer. Whilst I will begin the call with some high-level comments before handing over to Waleed to walk through the key drivers of our results for the fourth quarter and full year 2022, and also give some insight into current market conditions for our -- and our outlook for 2023. At that point, we'll open the call up for Q&A.

參加今天電話會議的有 IGI 董事長兼首席執行官 Wasef Jabsheh、總裁 Waleed Jabsheh 和首席財務官 Pervez Rizvi。在電話會議開始時，我將發表一些高層評論，然後由 Waleed 介紹我們第四季度和 2022 年全年業績的關鍵驅動因素，並對我們以及我們的當前市場狀況進行一些深入了解。 2023 年展望。屆時，我們將開始問答徵集。

I'll begin with some customary Safe Harbor language. Our speakers' remarks may contain forward-looking statements. Some of the forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words. We caution you that such forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by us that the future plans, estimates, or expectations contemplated by us will in fact be achieved.

我將從一些習慣性的安全港語言開始。我們的發言人的言論可能包含前瞻性陳述。一些前瞻性陳述可以通過前瞻性詞語的使用來識別。我們提醒您，此類前瞻性陳述不應被視為我們表示我們預期的未來計劃、估計或期望實際上將會實現。

Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Actual events results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including the risk factors set forth in the company's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021, the company's reports on Form 6-K, and other filings with the SEC, as well as our results' press release issued yesterday evening.

前瞻性陳述涉及風險、不確定性和假設。由於多種因素，實際事件結果可能與前瞻性陳述中預測的結果存在重大差異，包括公司截至 2021 年 12 月 31 日的年度報告 20-F 中列出的風險因素、公司報告表格 6-K 和其他向 SEC 提交的文件，以及我們昨天晚上發布的業績新聞稿。

We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. In addition, we use non-IFRS financial measures in this conference call. For a reconciliation of non-IFRS measures to the nearest IFRS measure, please see our earnings release that's been filed with the SEC and is available on our website.

我們不承擔公開更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述的義務，這些陳述僅代表截至發布之日的情況。此外，我們在本次電話會議中使用了非 IFRS 財務指標。有關非 IFRS 指標與最接近的 IFRS 指標的調節，請參閱我們已向 SEC 提交並可在我們的網站上獲取的收益報告。

With that, I'll turn the call over to our Chairman and CEO, Wasef Jabsheh.

接下來，我會將電話轉給我們的董事長兼首席執行官 Wasef Jabsheh。

Thank you, Robin, and good day, everyone. Thanks for joining us on today's call. We had another excellent year in 2022 to close out our 20th anniversary year. As we're in our third decade, we are in our strongest position ever with exceptional teams across the company, a performance-based culture, and a proven ability to manage the growth, volatility, and the cyclicality of this business. For 20 years, our focus has been on creating a solid and lasting company built on financial strength, innovation, and one that is a fair partner to all our stakeholders. Our track record of earnings, stability, and consistency shows that we are certainly on the right path.

謝謝你，羅賓，大家好。感謝您參加今天的電話會議。 2022 年，我們又度過了美好的一年，為我們的 20 週年畫上了圓滿的句號。在我們進入第三個十年的時候，我們處於有史以來最強大的地位，擁有全公司優秀的團隊、基於績效的文化，以及管理該業務增長、波動和周期性的經過驗證的能力。 20 年來，我們的重點一直是創建一家堅實、持久的公司，以財務實力、創新為基礎，並成為所有利益相關者的公平合作夥伴。我們的盈利、穩定性和一致性記錄表明我們確實走在正確的道路上。

We posted record results in many of our key metrics in 2022. Our full-year combined ratio of 78.5% and core operating return on average shareholders' equity of 22.7% demonstrate how our strategy and execution capabilities are driving consistent, high quality details, and shareholder value.

2022 年，我們在許多關鍵指標上取得了創紀錄的業績。我們的全年綜合成本率為 78.5%，核心運營平均股東權益回報率為 22.7%，這表明我們的戰略和執行能力如何推動一致、高質量的細節，以及股東價值。

I want to thank all of our IGI family for their focus and dedication to the continued success of IGI. Waleed will talk about the results in more detail and specifics on what we are seeing in the market.

我要感謝所有 IGI 家族成員對 IGI 持續成功的關注和奉獻。瓦利德將更詳細地討論結果以及我們在市場上看到的具體情況。

So just a few more comments from me. Overall, the market remains robust with varying competitive pressures, leading to some fragmentation between lines and sectors. Our industry continues to face a lot of headwinds with social and financial inflation, political instability, and increasing frequency and severity in natural catastrophes, among others. The market is becoming more challenging, generally.

我再補充幾句評論。總體而言，市場仍然強勁，競爭壓力各異，導致產品線和行業之間出現一定程度的分散。我們的行業繼續面臨社會和金融通脹、政治不穩定以及自然災害頻率和嚴重程度增加等諸多不利因素。總體而言，市場變得更具挑戰性。

Nevertheless, we are still seeing and expect to continue to see some really good opportunities for new business across our portfolio. So we continue to be optimistic about our future and continuing to deliver on our commitment to creating value for the long term. And now Waleed can take you through the results for the quarter and full year, and provide more details on our outlook for the remainder of 2023. Waleed?

儘管如此，我們仍然看到並期望繼續在我們的投資組合中看到一些非常好的新業務機會。因此，我們繼續對未來持樂觀態度，並繼續履行為長期創造價值的承諾。現在瓦利德可以向您介紹本季度和全年的業績，並提供有關我們對 2023 年剩餘時間的展望的更多詳細信息。瓦利德？

Thank you, Wasef. Thank you all for joining us today. I'm going to start with some key highlights in our results for the fourth quarter and full year, and then we'll move on to what we're seeing in our markets and opportunities ahead.

謝謝你，瓦瑟夫。感謝大家今天加入我們。我將從第四季度和全年業績中的一些關鍵亮點開始，然後我們將繼續討論我們在市場中看到的情況和未來的機遇。

As Wasef said, our results in 2022 were excellent and really demonstrate the consistent execution of our strategy, the focus, and commitment of our people, and our ability to shift gears within the changing market conditions. I'd echo Wasef's comments and commend everybody at IGI on their hard work, their dedication, and the great results we've achieved in 2022. You saw from our press release issued last night that we had record results in a number of line items.

正如 Wasef 所說，我們 2022 年的業績非常出色，真正體現了我們戰略的一貫執行、我們員工的關注和承諾，以及我們在不斷變化的市場條件下轉變方向的能力。我贊同 Wasef 的評論，並對 IGI 的每個人的辛勤工作、奉獻精神以及我們在 2022 年取得的巨大成果表示讚揚。您從我們昨晚發布的新聞稿中看到，我們在許多項目中取得了創紀錄的成果。

Net underwriting results increased over 40% to $148.5 million, leading to an after-tax profit of 85.5%, almost double that of the previous year, 2021. And the combined ratio of 78.5%, showing 7.9 points of improvement over 2021. And our book value per share was $9.49, up 7.5% from the year end 21, and over 25% since we became public company in March of 2020.

淨承保業績增長超過 40%，達到 1.485 億美元，稅後利潤達到 85.5%，幾乎是上一年（2021 年）的兩倍。綜合成本率為 78.5%，比 2021 年提高了 7.9 個百分點。每股賬面價值為 9.49 美元，較 21 年底增長 7.5%，自 2020 年 3 月上市以來增長超過 25%。

Other highlights for the full year, gross premiums written increased by 6.6%, on the back of increases of more than 16% in 2021 and 33% in more than 33% in 2020. Total assets increased 7.5%, total equity up by 6.9%. We continue to make some adjustments in our investment portfolio during the fourth quarter, increasing our allocation to higher rated bonds, managing the duration of the bond portfolio down to three years at December 31, 2022 from 3.3 years at September 30.

全年其他亮點：毛承保保費增長 6.6%，2021 年增長超過 16%，2020 年增長 33%，超過 33%。總資產增長 7.5%，總權益增長 6.9% 。我們在第四季度繼續對投資組合進行一些調整，增加對較高評級債券的配置，將債券投資組合的久期從9月30日的3.3​​年下調至2022年12月31日的三年。

And that is the fourth straight quarter we reduced the duration of our portfolio whilst maintaining average credit quality at a minus. We also increased our cash and short-term deposits take advantage of the more attractive returns. All in, we delivered 20.6% return on average equity, and a 22.7% core operating return on average equity.

這是我們連續第四個季度縮短投資組合的久期，同時將平均信用質量保持在負值。我們還增加了現金和短期存款，以利用更具吸引力的回報。總而言之，我們的平均股本回報率為 20.6%，核心運營平均股本回報率為 22.7%。

I'll address a few themes coming out of 2022. First is the impact of foreign currency movement played in our results. As you know, we report in US dollars, but a sizable percentage of our transactional currencies are the pound, sterling, and the euro. So there can be some volatility in currency translations. We saw in the first three quarters of 2022 being impacted by the strengthening of the US dollar against the pound and euro.

我將討論 2022 年的幾個主題。首先是外匯變動對我們業績的影響。如您所知，我們以美元報告，但我們的交易貨幣中有很大一部分是英鎊、英鎊和歐元。因此，貨幣換算可能會出現一些波動。我們看到 2022 年前三個季度受到美元兌英鎊和歐元走強的影響。

And we said each quarter that at some point this will change and it would have the opposite effect on our underwriting results. While that happens in during the fourth quarter, the pound strengthened against the dollar and virtually reverse the impact of the prior three quarters. Also during the fourth quarter, we took steps to mitigate some of that FX volatility by lowering the foreign currency exposure in our balance sheet and holding more assets in pounds and euros.

我們每個季度都表示，這種情況會在某個時候發生變化，並對我們的承保業績產生相反的影響。雖然這種情況發生在第四季度，但英鎊兌美元走強，幾乎扭轉了前三個季度的影響。同樣在第四季度，我們採取了措施，通過降低資產負債表中的外幣風險並持有更多英鎊和歐元資產來緩解部分外匯波動。

Our results for the fourth quarter clearly demonstrate what we've been saying each quarter this year, that one quarter is not a true measure of our performance and looking at results in our profitability over a longer term as more indicative. In each quarter's results in 2022, currency movements have contributed to volatility in most of our key metrics.

我們第四季度的業績清楚地證明了我們今年每個季度都說過的話，即一個季度並不能真正衡量我們的業績，而從長遠來看，我們的盈利能力結果更具指示性。在 2022 年每個季度的業績中，匯率變動導致了我們大多數關鍵指標的波動。

Specifically, net underwriting results combined ratio and core operating results positively during the first three quarters when the US dollar strengthened against the pound and the euro and the reversal of that in the fourth quarter when the pound and euro strengthened against the dollar. Our industry will always have quarterly volatility for a variety of reasons, so it's more indicative submissions again to look at the longer periods.

具體而言，前三季度美元兌英鎊和歐元走強時，淨承保業績綜合成本率和核心經營業績呈正向增長，而第四季度英鎊和歐元兌美元走強時，淨承保業績綜合成本率和核心經營業績出現逆轉。由於各種原因，我們的行業總是會出現季度波動，因此再次查看較長時期更具指示性。

In other developments during the year previously announced, we created a new Chief Underwriting Officer role, and I'm pleased to say that Chris Jarvis has joined us in October of last year. Chris brings significant London market experience, most recently with Canopius. And we're already benefiting from his experience, his relationships in the market and the fresh perspective that he brings to the business.

在之前宣布的一年中的其他進展中，我們設立了一個新的首席承保官職位，我很高興地說克里斯·賈維斯已於去年 10 月加入我們。 Chris 帶來了豐富的倫敦市場經驗，最近在 Canopius 工作。我們已經從他的經驗、他在市場中的關係以及他為企業帶來的新鮮視角中受益。

And we opened an office in Bermuda where we've had a principle and underwriting subsidiary for many years. With the new office in Hamilton, it is a small but growing team there. We expect to expand our portfolio of reinsurance treaty business in the near term.

我們在百慕大開設了一個辦事處，多年來我們在那裡設有一家主要和承保子公司。漢密爾頓的新辦事處是一個規模雖小但不斷壯大的團隊。我們預計在短期內擴大我們的再保險條約業務組合。

Back in August, we announced the acquisition of Oslo -- an Oslo, Norway based MGA called Energy Insurance Oslo or EIO, with whom we've had an exclusive underwriting agency arrangements since 2009, writing a portfolio of mostly upstream energy infrastructure and business. We launched a number of initiatives, made number of new hires across the company in underwriting, investments, IT operations in order to effectively integrate and service the growth we've seen in the past few years, and that we anticipate going forward. And on the capital management front, we announced a new dividend policy, a 5 million common share buybacks.

早在 8 月份，我們就宣布收購奧斯陸——一家總部位於挪威奧斯陸的 MGA，名為奧斯陸能源保險 (Energy Insurance Oslo) 或 EIO，自 2009 年以來我們與該公司簽訂了獨家承保代理安排，承保了主要涵蓋上游能源基礎設施和業務的投資組合。我們推出了多項舉措，在整個公司範圍內招聘了承保、投資、IT 運營方面的新員工，以便有效地整合和服務我們過去幾年所看到的增長以及我們預計未來的增長。在資本管理方面，我們宣布了新的股息政策，即回購 500 萬股普通股。

You saw the update in our press release issued last night that we've utilized more than half of our 5 million share repurchase authorization. Specifically, we repurchased a total of 2,582,317 common shares in open market purchases and one privately negotiated transaction during the first quarter of 2023, all the prices well below our December 31 stated book value per share of $9.49.

您在我們昨晚發布的新聞稿中看到了更新，我們已經使用了 500 萬股股票回購授權中的一半以上。具體來說，我們在 2023 年第一季度通過公開市場購買和一項私下協商交易總共回購了 2,582,317 股普通股，所有價格均遠低於我們 12 月 31 日規定的每股賬面價值 9.49 美元。

Before moving to commentary on the market, I'll address some items to take into consideration relating to the first quarter of 2023. First, as mentioned in our 20-F filing for year-end 2021, we have voluntarily decided to change our basis of accounting from IFRS to US GAAP. We will report our consolidated financial statements in US GAAP effective January 1, 2023.

在開始對市場進行評論之前，我將討論一些與 2023 年第一季度相關的需要考慮的事項。首先，正如我們在 2021 年底的 20-F 文件中提到的，我們自願決定改變我們的基礎從 IFRS 到 US GAAP 的會計準則。我們將於 2023 年 1 月 1 日起按照美國公認會計準則 (US GAAP) 報告合併財務報表。

Accordingly, the companies evaluated the full potential conversion impact of this change and the first time application of US GAAP. So as a result, we estimate total reported equity of $429.8 million. As I said now, on an IFRS basis, as at December 31, 2022 will be in the range of $405 million to $415 million on a US GAAP basis. It's also important to bear in mind the large repurchase we made in January, which will be reflected in our first quarter 2023 results.

因此，兩家公司評估了這一變化和首次應用美國公認會計原則的全部潛在轉換影響。因此，我們估計報告的總股本為 4.298 億美元。正如我現在所說，根據國際財務報告準則（IFRS），截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，根據美國公認會計原則（US GAAP），該費用將在 4.05 億美元至 4.15 億美元之間。同樣重要的是要記住我們 1 月份進行的大規模回購，這將反映在我們 2023 年第一季度的業績中。

Turning to the market, our industry continues to be challenged on a number of fronts with instability and uncertainty across the globe, inflationary pressures, both social and financial already impacting our business. Broadly speaking, the market overall remains robust, but there's wide variation in pricing terms conditions, not just by line of business, but by geographies across our entire portfolio.

轉向市場，我們的行業繼續在許多方面面臨挑戰，全球範圍內的不穩定和不確定性、社會和金融方面的通貨膨脹壓力已經影響了我們的業務。從廣義上講，市場總體仍然強勁，但定價條款條件存在很大差異，不僅因業務線而異，而且因我們整個投資組合的地理位置而異。

While we continue to see positive rate movement across our portfolio, with cumulative net rate increases for 22 of 5.2% in short-tail loans, 7.1% in long-tail loans, and 5.4% in reinsurance, it is wholly indicative of the underlying trends that we're seeing in each of these segments. Overall, we're seeing more opportunities in our short-tail and reinsurance segments. I'll start with our short-tail business.

雖然我們的投資組合繼續出現積極的利率走勢，短尾貸款 5.2%、長尾貸款 7.1% 和再保險 5.4% 中的 22 項累計淨利率上漲，但這完全表明了基本趨勢我們在每個細分市場中都看到了這一點。總體而言，我們在短尾和再保險領域看到了更多機會。我將從我們的短尾業務開始。

We're seeing some excellent opportunities across our portfolio, but specifically, property as well as construction engineering, contingency, PV, and marine cargo. Clearly, I've been following hurricane Ian, as markets are showing more dislocation with reduced interest, and restricted market capacity along with higher retentions, and significant price increases being imposed, where we're seeing the most opportunities in our property D&F book, where we saw -- we've been seeing significant increases in submission clause.

我們在我們的投資組合中看到了一些絕佳的機會，特別是房地產以及建築工程、應急、光伏和海運貨物。顯然，我一直在關注伊恩颶風，因為市場表現出更多的混亂，興趣下降，市場容量受到限制，保留率提高，價格大幅上漲，我們在房地產 D&F 書中看到了最多的機會，我們看到——我們看到提交條款顯著增加。

On the PV side, received a greater degree of dislocation with tighter wordings in the bench coverages. And the reinsurance capacity for PV is much harder to come by following the events in Chile, South Africa and more recently the Russia-Ukraine war. And 1/1, our contingency business, while still small in terms of dollar period for us is showing healthy rate momentum and we expect to show growth in this line. We're seeing healthy rates in terms of engineering and construction with plenty of opportunities, especially coming out of the GCC and MENA regions, where there is significant infrastructure development going on with many large projects.

在光伏方面，板凳覆蓋範圍內的措辭更加嚴格，因此出現了更大程度的混亂。繼智利、南非事件以及最近的俄羅斯-烏克蘭戰爭之後，光伏發電的再保險能力變得更加困難。 1/1，我們的應急業務，雖然就我們的美元期限而言仍然很小，但正在顯示出健康的利率勢頭，我們預計該業務將出現增長。我們看到工程和建築方面的健康發展速度和大量機會，特別是來自海灣合作委員會和中東和北非地區，這些地區正在進行重大基礎設施開發，許多大型項目正在進行。

For us, these are markets we know very well and we have people on the ground who have long and deep relationships in the region. Our Dubai office specifically performed very well last year, writing about 25% more business than the prior year, and we are expecting this trend to continue. There's been much said already about the January 1 renewal period. While one is an important renewal for us, our business renews fairly evenly throughout the year. And our reinsurance business is comparatively small, overall.

對我們來說，這些都是我們非常了解的市場，我們的實地人員與該地區有著長期而深厚的關係。去年，我們的迪拜辦事處表現非常出色，業務量比前一年增加了約 25%，我們預計這一趨勢將持續下去。關於 1 月 1 日的續訂期已經有很多討論了。雖然其中一個對我們來說是重要的更新，但我們的業務全年更新相當均勻。總體而言，我們的再保險業務規模相對較小。

However, we did take advantage of the significant dislocation in the treaty reinsurance market so far this year, where we wrote over 65% more than we normally would. And that's on a diversified multiline base. You can expect to see our reinsurance segment globally diversified, become a more significant piece of our portfolio, and probably closer to 10% of our overall book in 2023.

然而，我們確實利用了今年迄今為止條約再保險市場的嚴重混亂，我們的承保金額比平時多了 65% 以上。這是建立在多元化的多線基礎上的。預計我們的再保險業務將在全球範圍內實現多元化，成為我們投資組合中更重要的組成部分，到 2023 年可能會接近我們整體賬簿的 10%。

Having said that, we witnessed some unusual dynamics in the direct markets in the fourth quarter at the same time as we were seeing tightening in the reinsurance markets in the lead up to 1/1 -- as far back as June, July of last year, we were seeing some erratic behavior in the direct markets, and what we seem to be a somewhat of a lack of direction and discipline.

話雖如此，我們在第四季度目睹了直接市場的一些不尋常動態，同時我們也看到再保險市場在 1/1 之前收緊——早在去年 6 月、7 月，我們在直接市場上看到了一些不穩定的行為，而且我們似乎有點缺乏方向和紀律。

As a result, we took a much more cautious approach in the fourth quarter of book, waiting to see the outcome of 1/1. And this was one of the reasons you saw that our gross premiums written in the quarter -- in the fourth quarter were down compared to Q4 2021. Specifically, no growth in short-tail lines and the non-renewal of some long-tail business.

因此，我們在本書的第四季度採取了更加謹慎的態度，等待看到 1/1 的結果。這就是您看到我們第四季度的毛保費與 2021 年第四季度相比下降的原因之一。具體來說，短尾業務沒有增長，而且一些長尾業務沒有續保。 。

Turning to our long-tail segment, the story is quite different. I mean, we're seeing more headwinds with increasing socioeconomic inflationary pressures in the landscapes to come more competitive with new capacity in the markets we write. I'll reiterate again, we don't write any long-tail business in the U.S. While rates overall in our long-tail segments were still adequate in the fourth quarter, we've seen several consecutive quarters now where renewal rates are trending down and this is more pronounced in FI and D&O. But PI in general, because these lines are also following a similar trend.

轉向我們的長尾部分，情況就完全不同了。我的意思是，隨著社會經濟通脹壓力的增加，我們看到了更多的阻力，使我們所寫的市場中的新產能更具競爭力。我再次重申，我們在美國沒有任何長尾業務。雖然第四季度我們長尾業務的整體費率仍然足夠，但我們已經連續幾個季度看到續訂率呈下降趨勢這在 FI 和 D&O 中更為明顯。但 PI 總體而言，因為這些線也遵循類似的趨勢。

We haven't seen any real change in claims activity yet, but we're -- it's something that we continue to monitor and take a cautious view here. So you can expect more of a leveling off following 16 quarters -- straight quarters of compound rate increases and significant growth in this segment. We've always prided ourselves on our ability to anticipate shifting markets and respond quickly and decisively, and we've demonstrated this ability -- or the ability to successfully navigate that part of the volatility, and the cyclicality of this business.

我們尚未看到索賠活動發生任何真正的變化，但我們將繼續監控並對此持謹慎態度。因此，您可以預期接下來的 16 個季度會更加趨於平穩——複合利率連續幾個季度增長，並且該領域出現顯著增長。我們一直為自己能夠預測不斷變化的市場并快速果斷地做出反應而感到自豪，並且我們已經證明了這種能力，或者說成功駕馭該業務的波動性和周期性的能力。

And our track record, including the results that we're talking about today clearly illustrate this. This is the driver behind the success we've achieved over many years. And that is what you're seeing us to again so far in 2023, focusing more on the short-tail reinsurance lines that are showing positive momentum and being more selective on the long-tail business.

我們的記錄，包括我們今天討論的結果，清楚地說明了這一點。這是我們多年來取得成功的驅動力。這就是我們在 2023 年迄今為止所看到的，更多地關注顯示出積極勢頭的短尾再保險業務，並對長尾業務更加挑剔。

So all in, we're seeing some very good opportunities at the outset of 2023. So you can expect to see some good growth when we issue our first quarter 2023 results. Also, we're close to completing the acquisition of EIO, and we expect that will present some additional opportunity to expand existing business, and also leverage our relationships to access future growth opportunities, not just in Norway, but throughout the Nordic markets.

總而言之，我們在 2023 年初看到了一些非常好的機會。因此，當我們發布 2023 年第一季度業績時，您可以期待看到一些良好的增長。此外，我們即將完成對 EIO 的收購，我們預計這將為擴大現有業務提供一些額外的機會，並利用我們的關係來獲得未來的增長機會，不僅在挪威，而且在整個北歐市場。

So just one last point from my end before we open the call for questions, we typically announce a common share dividend at the same time as we issue our results, as our Board typically meets at that time. Following year-end. However, our Board typically doesn't meet until close to the end of March, and that is the same this year. So you can expect to announce an announcement at that time. Again, I'd like to thank you for your interest in and support of IGI. We are committed to generating value for our shareholders through excellence in underwriting, growing our book value per share, and leveraging other capital initiatives.

因此，在我們開始提問之前，我想說的最後一點是，我們通常會在發佈業績的同時宣布普通股股息，因為我們的董事會通常會在那時舉行會議。年底之後。然而，我們的董事會通常要到三月底才會召開會議，今年也是如此。因此，屆時您可以期待發佈公告。再次感謝您對 IGI 的關注和支持。我們致力於通過卓越的承銷、增加每股賬面價值以及利用其他資本舉措為股東創造價值。

So I'm going to pause here and we'll turn it over for questions. Operator, we're ready to take the first question please.

所以我要在這裡暫停一下，我們將把它轉過來以供提問。接線員，我們準備好回答第一個問題了。

Thank you. We'll now begin the question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) Mark Dwelle, RBC.

謝謝。我們現在開始問答環節。 （操作員說明）Mark Dwelle，RBC。

Hey, good morning. Couple of questions. A relatively higher level of catastrophe losses in the quarter than maybe what I was expecting. Can you talk about where you had exposure there and what the factors were in that?

嗨，早上好。有幾個問題。本季度的災難損失水平可能比我的預期要高。您能談談您在那裡接觸過的地方以及其中的因素是什麼嗎？

Hi Mark. Thanks. There wasn't any specific event that made up those numbers. It was really the majority of that amount is more general cat loads. So we have in our reserves and we kept following Ian and the slow -- and some of the other events that happened throughout the year. We've noticed maybe a little bit of a slowdown in the way it's being reported. And so we -- the most of that is made of the general cat load. We were -- we had a couple of million dollars exposure on hurricane Ian and a little bit on Australian floods, but there was no specific event that had any sort of material impact on the numbers.

嗨馬克。謝謝。沒有任何具體事件構成這些數字。實際上，其中大部分是更一般的貓負載。因此，我們有儲備，並且一直關注伊恩和緩慢的事件以及全年發生的一些其他事件。我們注意到報導的方式可能有點放緩。所以我們——其中大部分是由一般的貓負載組成的。我們在伊恩颶風和澳大利亞洪水方面承受了幾百萬美元的風險，但沒有任何具體事件對這些數字產生任何實質性影響。

That's helpful. And I knew some of the winter storms in the US were big for a lot of the US carriers, but I wouldn't have figured you had exposure there. So I was curious there's something I missed and that helps clarify.

這很有幫助。我知道美國的一些冬季風暴對許多美國航空公司來說都很嚴重，但我沒想到你會在那裡暴露。所以我很好奇我錯過了一些東西，這有助於澄清。

The second question that I had missed is really just trying to patch together a couple of the comments you made in your opening remarks. So it sounded like in the fourth quarter, you saw some market behavior that you weren't keen on and accordingly, refrained a little bit from growing the book at that point and particularly in the long-tail lines.

我錯過的第二個問題實際上只是試圖將您在開場白中發表的一些評論拼湊在一起。因此，聽起來好像在第四季度，您看到了一些您不熱衷的市場行為，因此，在那時，特別是在長尾產品線中，稍微克制住了增長。

And then if I'm interpreting correctly, that gave you the opportunity to then take a little bit better, fuller advantage of some of the conditions that prevailed around January 1 and early first quarter renewals. Is that the right way to think about you -- your comments?

如果我的解釋正確的話，這讓你有機會更好、更充分地利用 1 月 1 日左右和第一季度初續約時普遍存在的一些條件。這是看待你——你的評論的正確方式嗎？

That's almost exactly the way to think about my comments, Tom. I mean, we were pretty surprised and disappointed with the behavior that we were seeing in the market. I mean, especially following from August, September of last year, the market has -- the reinsurance market has shown clear direction of where it was going.

湯姆，這幾乎就是我思考我的評論的方式。我的意思是，我們對市場上看到的行為感到非常驚訝和失望。我的意思是，特別是從去年八月、九月開始，再保險市場已經顯示出明確的發展方向。

Unfortunately, from what we observed in the latter part of the year, the direct markets chose to really ignore that, what they knew what was coming. They didn't -- we felt they didn't choose to react or be proactive with it. And so you did find some erratic behavior, some increased competition, and it was behavior that we weren't willing to be a part of. That being said, come 1/1, the reinsurance markets were true to their words and actions.

不幸的是，從我們在今年下半年觀察到的情況來看，直接市場選擇真正忽略這一點，他們知道即將發生什麼。他們沒有——我們覺得他們沒有選擇做出反應或積極主動地應對。所以你確實發現了一些不穩定的行為，一些競爭加劇，而這些行為是我們不願意參與的。話雖這麼說，到了 1 月 1 日，再保險市場兌現了他們的言行。

And since then, we've seen a huge shift in dynamics within certain markets, certain territories, certain lines of business. And as we said, especially really on where we're seeing it is on the short-tail business and the reinsurance segment. And it's a markedly changed environment than what it was just a couple of months ago. And so the opportunities have so far this year -- I can say, have been all honestly exceeded our expectations since then. Hope that this and expect that this continues throughout the remainder of the year.

從那時起，我們看到某些市場、某些地區、某些業務領域的動態發生了巨大轉變。正如我們所說，尤其是我們所看到的短尾業務和再保險領域。與幾個月前相比，現在的環境發生了顯著變化。因此，今年迄今為止的機會——我可以說，老實說，自那時以來，這些機會都超出了我們的預期。希望這種情況能夠持續到今年剩餘時間。

And that's helpful color. Were there any particular lines in the fourth quarter or late last year that seemed to be particularly erratic?

這是有用的顏色。第四季度或去年年底是否有任何特別不穩定的線路？

We saw and we've been seeing, not erratic, but it's almost like consistent in the long-tail side, on the FI to D&O, we've seen trending and downward pressure on rates consistently. And we expect that to continue throughout the year. Where we probably saw the erratic behavior that has now reversed itself more so far this year is probably on the property side in all honesty and more so on the international book than the US book. But that's again -- that's become such that to a different story so far this year.

我們看到並且我們一直在看到，不是不穩定的，但在長尾方面幾乎是一致的，在 FI 到 D&O 方面，我們一直看到利率的趨勢和下行壓力。我們預計這種情況將持續一整年。老實說，我們可能看到今年迄今為止已經發生更多逆轉的不穩定行為可能是在房地產方面，而且在國際書籍上比在美國書籍上更是如此。但這又是——今年到目前為止，情況已經變得不同了。

I mean, we will continue to focus on those areas where we feel the returns are healthiest, and that's always been how we've done things, and I think are the critical parts of our strengths and competitive edge. And I think 2023 is going to provide great opportunity and more opportunity than 2022 did.

我的意思是，我們將繼續關注那些我們認為回報最健康的領域，這一直是我們做事的方式，我認為這是我們優勢和競爭優勢的關鍵部分。我認為 2023 年將提供巨大的機會，而且比 2022 年更多的機會。

Okay, that's helpful. And can you just remind me about what percentage of your book is written in pounds and in euros as compared to dollars? (multiple speakers)

好的，這很有幫助。您能否提醒我一下，與美元相比，您的書中用英鎊和歐元寫的百分比是多少？ （多個發言者）

It's about a third of the book that is written in pounds and euros combined -- maybe a little over a 35% to 40%.

這本書的大約三分之一是用英鎊和歐元寫的——也許略多於 35% 到 40%。

Okay. That's helpful. I'll -- [thanks, for giving me chance].

好的。這很有幫助。我會——[謝謝，給我機會]。

(Operator Instructions). This concludes our question-and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Wasef Jabsheh for any closing remarks.

（操作員說明）。我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉交瓦瑟夫·賈布謝 (Wasef Jabsheh) 發表閉幕詞。

Thank you all for joining us today. We appreciate your continued support, and we will continue building on our successes, so that we'll continue to generate value for more into future years. If you have any additional questions, please contact Robin and she will be happy to assist. Have a good day.

感謝大家今天加入我們。我們感謝您的持續支持，我們將繼續鞏固我們的成功，以便我們在未來幾年繼續創造更多價值。如果您還有任何其他問題，請聯繫 Robin，她將很樂意為您提供幫助。祝你有美好的一天。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連接。