Amwest Insurance Posts 61% Rise in Earnings

Amwest Insurance Group Inc., which sells bail bonds and other surety bonds, said its second-quarter net income jumped 61% from a year earlier, from $586,000 to $944,000.

The Woodland Hills-based company said the higher earnings came on a 38% increase in its net premiums earned--an insurance measure of total revenue--to $11.4 million from $8.30 million.

For the first half of this year, Amwest’s profit rose 5% to $1.66 million from $1.58 million, and its net premiums earned climbed 31% to $22.4 million from $17.1 million.