Crawford & Co. reports profit increase for nine-month period

ATLANTA—Claims management firm Crawford & Co. posted a jump in its profits for the first nine months of 2011 despite losses for Broadspire Services Inc., Crawford's third-party administration unit.

Atlanta-based Crawford reported net income of $40.9 million on revenues of $926.4 million for the year to date. For first nine months of 2010, Crawford reported net income of $13.6 million on revenues of $786.1 million.

For the third quarter ended Sept. 30, Crawford reported net income of $15.3 million on revenues of $308.2 million. That's compared to net income of $13.1 million on revenues of $278.1 million for the same quarter last year.

Much of Crawford's earnings growth was attributable to its legal settlement administration division, which handles class action lawsuit settlements and warranty services. For the year to date, that segment reported operating profits of $42.5 million, up 114% from $19.8 million a year ago.

In a statement Monday, Crawford CEO Jeffrey Bowman attributed that unit's growth to its handling of settlements from last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

TPA Broadspire posted an operating loss of $9.2 million for the first nine months of this year, compared to a loss of $4.8 million for the same period in 2010. Mr. Bowman said the unit has been affected, in part, by reduced volume in the workers compensation market, as well as longer durations for workers comp claims.

"We are actively addressing these issues and focusing on significant technology improvements, business development, and cost control measures," Mr. Bowman said in the statement.

Crawford said it completed arbitration during the third quarter stemming from its 2006 acquisition of Broadspire from California-based Platinum Equity L.L.C.