Mercury General Tops Targets, Lays Off 300

Mercury General(MCY Quote), the auto and home insurer, exceeded Wall Street first-quarter profit targets even as it reported year-over-year declines in its top and bottom lines and announced more than 300 layoffs.

The Los Angeles company reported earnings, excluding investment gains, of $46 million, or 83 cents a share, down 17.8% from $55.9 million, or $1.02 a share a year ago. Analysts were expecting EPS of 64 cents for the just-ended quarter.

Including investment gains, they company earned $96.7 million, or $1.75 a share, compared with the year-ago period's loss of $4 million, or 7 cents a share.

Mercury General attributed the fall-off from 2008 to an 8% company-wide decline in premiums written, to $670.9 million from $729.3 million in the year-earlier period.

In addition to the 360 job cuts, Mercury General said it had frozen salaries and suspended its 401(k) matching program. The company said it expects the moves to save more than $20 million a year.

Mercury also said its board declared a quarterly dividend of 58 cents a share, to be paid June 29 to shareholders of record on June 15.

The company's shares were up 2% in morning trading Monday.