Zenith Profits Up 44% in First Three Quarters

Zenith National Insurance Corp. reported a 44% increase in its profit margin for the first nine months of 2005, even though it recorded a slight dip in the third quarter of 2005 compared to the same period last year. The company, considered a bellwether stock for California's workers' compensation industry, saw profits decline from $24.5 million in the third quarter of 2004 to $23 million in the third quarter of this year. But net income for the first three quarters of 2005 jumped to $108.7 million, or $2.99 per share, compared $75.3 million, or $2.16 per share, for the first nine months of...