Raymond R. Quirk - Fidelity National Financial, Inc.
Management
Thank you, Bill. We generated adjusted pre-tax title earnings of $186 million, an $11 million or 6% increase over the first quarter of 2017. Our adjusted pre-tax title margin of 11.7% was a 60 basis point improvement over the prior year. The residential purchase and commercial markets continued to drive our performance in the first quarter, as residential purchase orders open per day increased 4% and closed purchase orders declined by 0.5% in the quarter, and total commercial revenue grew by 3% versus the first quarter of 2017. On the refinance side, refinances – refinance open orders declined by just under 6% and closed refinance orders fell by 16%. Despite the 0.5% increase (05:44) in closed purchase orders and a 16% decline in closed refinance orders, we are encouraged by reporting growth in both adjusted pre-tax earnings and the pre-tax title margin. For the first quarter, total open orders averaged just over 7,700 per day with January at more than 7,500, February at nearly 7,800 and March at more than 7,800. As I mentioned, purchase orders open per day increased by 4% for the first quarter. For April, the total open orders were nearly 8,000 per day and purchase orders opened per day grew by 3% over April of 2017. Additionally, refinance orders open per day decreased 13% versus April of the prior year. During the first quarter, we eliminated 346 positions in our field operations, which combined with the 407 positions eliminated in the fourth quarter of 2017 positioned us well for a slower seasonal first quarter. We enter the second quarter of this year with lower head count in the field operations than when we entered the second quarter of 2017. Our direct business generated a 1.5% increase in direct title premiums versus the first quarter of 2017, while the agency business experienced a 3% decline in agency title premiums. Direct revenue benefited from a 9% increase in the fee per file, primarily driven by a higher percentage of purchase closed orders and the 3% growth in commercial revenue, offset by a 6% decrease in total closed orders driven primarily by the 16% decline in refinance closings versus the first quarter of 2017. Total commercial revenue of $230 million was a 3% increase over the first quarter of 2017, driven by a 5% increase in closed commercial orders, offset somewhat by a 3% decline in the commercial fee per file. Additionally, a 7% increase in opened commercial orders bodes well for the commercial business over the next several quarters. The total fee per file of $2,344 increased by 9% over the first quarter of 2017, and 62% of closed orders were purchase related versus 58% in the first quarter of 2017. Let me now turn the call over to Tony Park to review the financial highlights.