Fidelity National Financial, Inc. reported total revenue of $3.9 billion in the third quarter, up 31 percent year-over-year, which resulted in adjusted net earnings growth of 39 percent year-over-year, to $604 million.
“Our third quarter margins and earnings were the strongest third quarter results in our company’s history, which speaks to our market-leading position combined with outstanding execution by our entire team,” CEO Randy Quirk said in FNF’s third-quarter earnings call, according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha.
The title segment continued to deliver record results, Quirk said. In the title segment, total revenue excluding recognized gains and losses was $3.1 billion, compared with $2.5 billion a year ago, a 24 percent increase.
“For the third quarter, we had generated adjusted pretax title earnings of $669 million, a 27 percent increase over the third quarter of 2020,” President Mike Nolan said. “Our adjusted pretax title margin was 21.7 percent, a 50 basis point increase over the prior year quarter.
“The results were driven by a 25 percent increase in average fee per file, a 9 percent increase in daily purchase orders closed and a 31 percent increase in total commercial orders closed, partially offset by a 21 percent decrease in daily refinance orders closed.”
Commercial revenue was a record $366 million, a 69 percent year-over-year increase. Nolan attributed the increase to a 31 percent increase in closed orders and 28 percent increase in total commercial fee per file.
Refinance orders opened decreased by 33 percent on a daily basis compared with a year ago.
“Our title business has performed very well through the third quarter with commercial and purchase volumes more than offsetting the decline in refinance activity,” Nolan said. “Looking forward, while refinance volumes may continue to moderate, it is important to note that direct refinance revenue only contributed approximately 19 percent of total direct revenue in the third quarter compared with 27 percent in the third quarter of last year.”
F&G produced $927 million in the third quarter, and the corporate segment generated $44 million, according to the earnings report.
“Overall, our results this quarter speaks to the dynamic business model that we have created and which we believe positions us for success through varying market cycles,” Quirk said.