By David Bull

Feb 21 - (The Insurer) - Ryan Specialty has matched Wall Street consensus forecasts for the fourth quarter with adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.45, while the wholesaler also reported organic revenue growth of 11.0%, down from 16.5% in Q4 2023.

Overall revenue was up 24.5% to $663.5 million during the quarter, the Chicago, Illinois-based firm reported on Thursday, while net income fell 27.3% year on year to $42.6 million.

Wholesale brokerage revenue increased by 9.4% to $374.8 million, binding authority grew by 10.7% to $74.6 million, and underwriting management by 84.1% to $200.0 million.

Adjusted Ebitdac increased by 36.2% to $216.0 million. The adjusted Ebitdac margin increased from 29.8% in Q4 2023 to 32.6% in the current reporting period.

Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.45 were up 28.6% on the prior-year period.

Ryan Specialty returned $19.2 million of capital to shareholders in the quarter through regular dividends and distributions.

For the full year, revenue was up 21.1% to $2.52 billion, with organic growth slowing to 12.8% from 15.4% in 2023.

Wholesale brokerage revenue increased by 12.9% to $1.49 billion, binding authority grew 16.1% to $320.4 million, and underwriting management by 49.7% to $646.2 million.

Net income was up 18.2% to $229.9 million, with adjusted Ebitdac up 29.8% to $811.2mn. The Ebitdac margin increased from 30.1% in 2023 to 32.2% last year.

Adjusted net income was up 31.4% to $493.5 million, with adjusted diluted earnings per share climbing 29.7% to $1.79.

For the full year, Ryan Specialty returned $102.4 million to shareholders, with $27.1 million of special dividends and $75.3 million of regular dividends and distributions.

The firm also provided 2025 guidance, including organic revenue growth of between 11.0% and 13.0%, and adjusted Ebitdac margin of 32.5% to 33.5%.

Commenting on the results, the firm’s founder and executive chairman Pat Ryan said: “It was another outstanding year for Ryan Specialty. For the year, we grew total revenue 21%, supported by organic growth of 12.8% and strong contributions from M&A, which added 7% to our top line. This marked our sixth consecutive year growing total revenue 20% or more.”

The veteran industry entrepreneur highlighted 210 basis points of margin expansion and 30% growth in adjusted earnings per share.

He also flagged the firm’s highly active year for M&A, with seven “high quality” acquisitions which will add more than $265 million in annualised revenue.

Ryan Specialty CEO Tim Turner, who took on the role in October 2024, pointed to “significant new business growth” and “strong renewal retention”.

“Coupling these results with significant M&A not only increased our market share but greatly expanded our total addressable market. We could not be more proud of the outstanding success we had in executing our M&A strategy, as we had our largest year yet in terms of acquired revenue,” he said.

Turner, who previously led the group’s wholesale brokerage arm RT Specialty, noted the early 2025 completion of the group’s Velocity Risk Underwriters acquisition.

“These acquisitions support our thesis of aligning specialized underwriting products with our distribution expertise across industries, expanding our capabilities, and offering clients diverse innovative solutions,” he added.

“We believe we remain well positioned to deliver sustainable and differentiated growth in 2025 and over the long term, and to create additional value for our shareholders,” the executive continued.