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Feb 26 (Reuters) - Verisk Analytics VRSK.O on Wednesday forecast its 2025 adjusted profit below Wall Street estimates amid higher interest expenses, sending the data analytics firm's shares down 3.1%.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Property and casualty (P&C) insurers have been facing higher losses due to claims triggered by extreme weather events around the world, prompting them to use analytics to help evaluate underwriting risks.

In January, AccuWeather forecast total economic losses from the Los Angeles wildfires to range between $135 billion and $150 billion.

Meanwhile, Verisk said insured property losses from the Palisades and Eaton fires are in the range of $28 billion to $35 billion, one of the highest loss estimates from the industry.

CONTEXT

New Jersey-based Verisk primarily serves the P&C insurers, providing catastrophe modeling and predictive analysis to help them assess risk and optimize policy pricing.

Verisk's shift towards subscription-based services has driven stable recurring revenue.

BY THE NUMBERS

Verisk's consolidated fourth-quarter revenue rose 8.6% to $736 million from a year earlier, beating analysts' average estimate of $733.7 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.

However, the company forecast 2025 adjusted earnings per share in the range of $6.80 to $7.10, below analysts' estimate of $7.31 per share.

Verisk expects its 2025 interest expense to be in the range of $145 million to $165 million, compared with $124.6 million in 2024, reflecting higher debt balances.

It also has $500 million in senior notes maturing in 2025.

The company earned $1.61 per share on an adjusted basis in the fourth quarter, up from $1.40 a year ago.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $1.60 per share.

Underwriting revenue increased 6.8% to $512 million in the reported quarter, while claims revenue climbed 13% as demand for the company's anti-fraud and property estimating solutions grew.

(Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Mohammed Safi Shamsi)

((Prakhar.srivastava2@thomsonreuters.com;))