What is Platinum Underwriters Holdings Free Cash Flow?
Platinum Underwriters Holdings's total free cash flow for the
months ended in Dec. 2014 was
€24.1 Mil.
Its total free cash flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2014 was €12.7 Mil.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Free Cash Flow is considered one of the most important parameters to measure a company's earnings power by value investors because it is not subject to estimates of Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization (DDA). However, when we look at the Free Cash Flow, we should look from a long term perspective, because any year's Free Cash Flow can be drastically affected by the spending on Property, Plant, & Equipment (PPE) of the business in that year. Over the long term, Free Cash Flow should give pretty good picture on the real earnings power of the company.
Free Cash Flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2014 adds up the quarterly data reported by the company within the most recent 12 months, which was €12.7 Mil.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Free Cash Flow is very close to Warren Buffett's definition of Owner's Earnings, except that in Warren Buffett's Owner's Earnings, the spending for Property, Plant, and Equipment is only for maintenance (replacement), while in the Free Cash Flow calculation, the cost of new Property, Plant, and Equipment due to business expansion is also deducted. There, Free Cash Flow is more conservative than Owner's Earnings.
In Don Yacktman's calculation of forward rate of return, he uses Free Cash Flow for the calculation. Yacktman explained the forward rate of return concept in detail in his interview with GuruFocus. Yacktman defines forward rate of return as the normalized free cash flow yield plus real growth plus inflation.
This is what Yacktman said in his March 2012 interview - when the S&P 500 was at 1400:
If the business is stable, this calculation is fairly straightforward. For instance, on the S&P 500 we would normalize earnings. We would then calculate what percentage of those earnings are not reinvested in the underlying businesses and are therefore free. Historically, for the S&P 500, this has been just under 50% of earnings. Currently, we expect the S&P to earn about 70 on a normalized basis, a number which is far below reported earnings due to our adjusting for record high profit margins. $70 X ½ / 1400 gives you a normalized free cash flow yield of approximately 2.5%.
The historical real growth rate of the S&P 500 (companies) is about 1.5%. Assuming an inflation rate of 2.5%, the forward rate of return on an investment in the S&P 500 is about 6.5% today (2.5% free cash flow yield plus 1.5% real growth plus 2.5% inflation).
For the growth part of the Forward Rate of Return calculation, GuruFocus uses the 5-year average growth rate of EBITDA per share as the growth rate, and the growth rate is always capped at 20%. For the Free Cash Flow we use per share data averaged over seven years. The reason we use seven years is because research shows that seven years is the length of the typical business cycle.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Be Aware
Free Cash Flow within a report period can be affected by management's decisions of capital spending. Therefore, it is important to look at long term when it comes to Free Cash Flow.
Platinum Underwriters Holdings Free Cash Flow Related Terms
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Platinum Underwriters Holdings (FRA:PMU) Business Description
Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. was incorporated on April 19, 2002. It operates as a holding company domiciled in Bermuda. Through its operating subsidiaries, it provides property and marine, casualty and finite risk reinsurance coverages, through reinsurance intermediaries, to a diverse clientele of commercial and personal lines insurers and select reinsurers on a basis. The Company operates through two licensed reinsurance subsidiaries, Platinum Underwriters Bermuda, Ltd., a Bermuda reinsurance company and wholly owned subsidiary of Platinum Holdings, and Platinum Underwriters Reinsurance, Inc., a U.S. reinsurance company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Platinum Underwriters Finance, Inc. The Company operates in Property and Marine, Casualty and Finite Risk segments. It provides reinsurance coverage for damage to property and crops. It provides reinsurance coverage for marine and offshore energy insurance programs. Coverages reinsured include hull damage, protection and indemnity, cargo damage, satellite damage and general marine liability. Within Marine, it also writes commercial and general aviation reinsurance. Casualty reinsurance protects a ceding company against financial loss arising out of the obligation to others for loss or damage to persons or property. The Company's Casualty operating segment mainly includes reinsurance contracts that cover umbrella liability, general and product liability, professional liability, workers' compensation, casualty clash, automobile liability, surety, trade credit, political risk and accident and health. Finite reinsurance includes mainly structured reinsurance contracts with ceding companies whose needs might not be met efficiently through traditional reinsurance products. Reinsurance contracts classified as finite are typically structured to include loss limitation or loss mitigation features. It markets its reinsurance products mainly through non-exclusive relationships with reinsurance brokers. The property and casualty reinsurance industry is competitive. It competes with Arch Capital Group Ltd., Axis Capital Holdings Limited, Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd., Everest Re Group, Ltd., Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd., PartnerRe Ltd., RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. and Transatlantic Holdings, Inc. The business of reinsurance is regulated in several countries, although the degree and type of regulation. Reinsurers are generally subject to less direct regulation than main insurers.
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