FNF Reports First Quarter 2019 Diluted EPS of $0.74 and Adjusted Diluted EPS of $0.43, Pre-Tax Title Margin of 19.2% and Adjusted Pre-Tax Title Margin of 11.3%

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF), a leading provider of title insurance and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries, today reported operating results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2019.

• Total revenue of approximately $1.7 billion in the first quarter versus $1.7 billion in the first quarter of 2018
• First quarter net earnings of $206 million and adjusted net earnings of $118 million versus net earnings of $97 million and adjusted net earnings of $118 million for the first quarter of 2018
• First quarter diluted EPS of $0.74 and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.43 versus diluted EPS of $0.35 and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.42 in the first quarter of 2018
• Realized gains were $142 million in the first quarter versus realized gains of $1 million in the first quarter of 2018, primarily due to the adoption of a new accounting standard in 2018 that requires mark to market accounting treatment of equity and preferred stock securities and recognition of the related changes in fair value in realized gains and losses, whether the securities were disposed of in the quarter or continue to be held in our investment portfolio

Title

• Total revenue of approximately $1.7 billion versus approximately $1.6 billion in total revenue in the first quarter of 2018
• Pre-tax earnings of $292 million and adjusted pre-tax earnings of $172 million versus pre-tax earnings of $163 million and adjusted pre-tax earnings of $186 million in the first quarter of 2018
• Pre-tax title margin of 19.2% and adjusted pre-tax title margin of 11.3% versus pre-tax title margin of 10.3% and adjusted pre-tax title margin of 11.7% in the first quarter of 2018
• First quarter purchase orders opened decreased 6% on a daily basis and purchase orders closed decreased 9% on a daily basis versus the first quarter of 2018
• Total commercial revenue of $228 million, a 1% decrease versus total commercial revenue in the first quarter of 2018, driven by a 5% decrease in closed orders offset by a 4% increase in total commercial fee per file; first quarter total commercial orders opened decreased 6% compared to the prior year
• Overall first quarter average fee per file of $2,567, a 10% increase versus the first quarter of 2018

Title Orders

"The first quarter was a strong start to the year for our title business, as we generated adjusted pre-tax title earnings of $172 million and an 11.3% adjusted pre-tax title margin," said Chairman William P. Foley, II.  "The 11.3% adjusted pre-tax title margin was only a 40 basis point, or 3%, decline from the first quarter of 2018, despite a 16% decrease in direct orders closed, comprised of a 9% decline in purchase orders closed, a 21% decline in refinance orders closed and a 5% decline in total commercial orders closed.  Additionally, the recent decline in mortgage rates has allowed for an increase in refinance open order counts, as March refinance orders opened increased by 16% versus March of 2018 and the first three weeks of April saw an increase of 42% over the prior year period.  Also, while first quarter purchase orders opened declined by 6% versus the first quarter of 2018, the first three weeks of April saw a decline of only 2% versus the prior year period.  We remain optimistic that the strong economy, stable or declining mortgage rates, slower home price appreciation and the possibility of increased residential supply will also provide the backdrop for a restart of the strength in the residential purchase market as we move into the seasonally stronger spring and summer months.

"With respect to the acquisition of Stewart Information Services, we continue to respond to the Second Request of the FTC.  We have also filed a new Form A application with the New York State Department of Financial Services, which disapproved a prior application, to acquire control of Stewart Title Insurance Company.  We will continue to respond to the FTC's Second Request and maintain discussions with all other relevant regulatory bodies to seek approval of the proposed acquisition.  We remain confident that the Stewart acquisition will create meaningful long-term value for our shareholders."

Conference Call
We will host a call with investors and analysts to discuss first quarter 2019 FNF results on Thursday, April 25, 2019, beginning at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time.  A live webcast of the conference call will be available on the Events and Multimedia page of the FNF Investor Relations website at fnf.com.  The conference call replay will be available via webcast through the FNF Investor Relations website at fnf.com.  The telephone replay will be available from 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on April 25, 2019, through May 2, 2019, by dialing 800-475-6701 (USA) or 320-365-3844 (International).  The access code will be 465966.

About Fidelity National Financial, Inc.
Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF) is a leading provider of title insurance and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries.  FNF is the nation's largest title insurance company through its title insurance underwriters - Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title, Alamo Title and National Title of New York - that collectively issue more title insurance policies than any other title company in the United States.  More information about FNF can be found at fnf.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is the term used to refer to the standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting. GAAP includes the standards, conventions, and rules accountants follow in recording and summarizing transactions and in the preparation of financial statements. In addition to reporting financial results in accordance with GAAP, FNF has provided non-GAAP financial measures, which it believes are useful to help investors better understand its financial performance, competitive position and prospects for the future. These non-GAAP measures include adjusted pre-tax earnings, adjusted pre-tax earnings as a percentage of adjusted revenue (adjusted pre-tax title margin), adjusted net earnings, and adjusted EPS.

Any non-GAAP measures should be considered in context with the GAAP financial presentation and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP net earnings. Further, FNF's non-GAAP measures may be calculated differently from similarly titled measures of other companies. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to related GAAP measures are provided below.

Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements regarding our expectations, hopes, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. Because such statements are based on expectations as to future financial and operating results and are not statements of fact, actual results may differ materially from those projected. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The risks and uncertainties which forward-looking statements are subject to include, but are not limited to: changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; weakness or adverse changes in the level of real estate activity, which may be caused by, among other things, high or increasing interest rates, a limited supply of mortgage funding or a weak U. S. economy; our potential inability to find suitable acquisition candidates; our dependence on distributions from our title insurance underwriters as a main source of cash flow; significant competition that our operating subsidiaries face; compliance with extensive government regulation of our operating subsidiaries; the risk that the necessary regulatory approvals of our acquisition of Stewart Information Services Corporation ("Stewart") may not be obtained or may be obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated;  risks that any of the closing conditions to the proposed Stewart merger may not be satisfied in a timely manner; the risk that the businesses will not be integrated successfully, that such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected or that the expected benefits of the acquisition will not be realized; and other risks detailed in the "Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information," "Risk Factors" and other sections of FNF's Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").

FNF-E

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SOURCE Fidelity National Financial, Inc.

Daniel Kennedy Murphy, Senior Vice President and Treasurer, 904-854-8120, dkmurphy@fnf.com