St. Paul Reports Profit Up 36.1 Percent From Year Earlier

The St. Paul Cos. announced first-quarter 2003 net income of $181 million, or 75 cents per share, up 36.1 percent from first-quarter 2002 net income of $133 million, or 60 cents per share.

First-quarter 2003 operating earnings were $206 million, or 86 cents per share, up 21.9 percent compared to operating earnings of $169 million, or 76 cents per share, for the comparable period of 2002. First-quarter 2003 net income and operating earnings included a $9 million after-tax charge, or 4 cents per share, resulting from the sale of the company’s 68-acre campus in Baltimore.

The company’s annualized operating earnings return on average equity was 16.2 percent, and annualized net income return on average equity was 12.5 percent.