Ticor Title is a member of the Fidelity National Financial family of companies and the nation’s largest group of title companies and title insurance underwriters that collectively issue more title insurance policies than any other title company in the United States.

Title Operation Performance

Our title business finished the third quarter of 2018 with solid results, as we generated adjusted pre-tax title earnings of $297 million, and an adjusted pre-tax title margin of 15.6%. Our adjusted pre-tax title earnings represented a $10 million, or 3.5%, growth over the third quarter of 2017.

Commercial Real Estate Overview

Our commercial operations continued their solid performance with third quarter total commercial revenue of $271 million, an 8% increase over the third quarter of 2017. This was driven by a 16% increase in total commercial fee per file, offset by a 7% decrease in closed commercial orders. Third quarter total commercial orders opened increased by 1% compared to the prior year.

Residential Real Estate Overview

Residential purchase opened orders increased by .3% and closed orders decreased by 1% in the third quarter versus the same quarter of 2017. In addition, the mix of business trend towards purchase transactions was sustained in the third quarter, with purchase business accounting for 69% of opened and 71% of closed orders.

Strong Focus on Metrics into Fourth Quarter

Moving into the seasonally slower fourth quarter of 2018, we remain focused on our operating metrics and executing our business plans to maximize our profitability and strive to remain the most profitable title insurance company in the nation.