W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Unidentified Analyst: Hi, I just had one. Hi, this is Dean on for Meyer. I just had one question. I was sort of surprised to see. I was sort of surprised to see that there were no share repurchases in the quarter. Is there anything anymore color you could provide on that? Or how should we think about repurchases for the remainder of the year?

Rob Berkley: We have, I think, as we’ve discussed in the past, we have a view as to what the real book value of the business is, putting aside the various accounting principles. We have a view as to what we think the earnings power of the business is. And obviously we know what the stock is trading at. And when we see an opportunity to step in and buy the stock and in what we view as an attractive manner for the shareholders, we will do so. But at this stage, we have not felt as though it’s the best mechanism to return capital to shareholders.

Operator: And that concludes our Q&A session. I will now turn the conference back over to Rob Berkley for closing remarks.

Rob Berkley: Okay. Audra, thank you very much and thank you to all for finding time to dial in. We appreciate your interest in the company. Again, I think by any measure, a very strong quarter. But perhaps, at least from my perspective, more interesting, more exciting is how the stage is set for what will not just be the balance of this year, but likely more and more what 2025 will shape up to be. Thank you. Take care. Bye, bye.

Operator: This concludes today’s conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.