net income available to common shareholders for the year to September 30 of $97,668,000 ($5.14 per share), a near 20 percent improvement over $81.5 million ($5.40 per share) the year before.

Total net income was $121.5 million before the removal of $23.8 million for the minority interest. That compared to last year when total net income was $129.5 million before the reconciliation of a near $48 million in minority interest.

Per share amounts for 1997 benefited from a lower number of common share equivalents outstanding, as a result of the company's purchase of 3.9 million common share equivalents since April.

Gross premiums written were $171.4 million, a 9.9 percent decline from 1996 in an increasingly competitive market.

Net premiums earned were $163.9 million, a 16 percent decline from 1996. Net investment income increased 23.3 percent to $33.1 million, due to an increase in yields and a larger investment base.

Losses and loss expenses were $31.2 million for the year, or 19 percent of net premiums earned, compared to $51.5 million in 1996 or 26.4 percent of net premiums earned.

Fourth quarter results showed a decrease in income before minority interest from $27.9 million in 1996 to $23 million this year. Gross premiums written were $27.3 million, up from $18.3 million.

The unusual low level of premium for the 1996 fourth quarter was blamed on falling rates, reduced reinstatement premiums and adjustments to estimated quota share agreements.

Net premiums earned were down 8.8 percent to $33.5 million. Net investment income was up about $900,000 to $8.4 million.

The quarter's losses and loss expenses were $9 million, up from $7.3 million in the same quarter a year before as a result of floods in Eastern Europe.

Commenting on the results, chairman, president and CEO, Victor H. Blake, said, "Over the latest quarter, and the full year, we have continued to show strong profits, and have met our key financial goal: to realise a return on common equity in excess of the industry average. Results like this provide assurance that our business plan is sound.'' The company has continued with its broad geographic spread of business, focused on core clients and its core book of property catastrophe business, and, sought opportunities to write other selected lines of business. Other lines were accessed principally through LaSalle's participation in three Lloyd's syndicates. The company has also used the year to entrench measures to protect its own capital base from downside risks.

Those measures include $200 million of non-traditional reinsurance protection, and the Catastrophe Equity Put or CatEPut, an innovative scheme designed to inject $100 million of capital into the company's balance sheet immediately following a major event, through the pre-arranged sale of convertible preferred shares to a syndicate of highly rated purchasers.

Mr. Blake said, "These capital protection measures -- some of them unique -- allow us to immediately take advantage of the opportunities that may present themselves in a post-event marketplace.''