Zenith National Shows 31% Decline in Profit

Zenith National Insurance Corp., a Woodland Hills-based insurer, said its third-quarter profit tumbled 31% from a year earlier despite a 3% increase in revenue.

In the quarter that ended Sept. 30, Zenith’s net income fell to $7.23 million from $10.4 million a year earlier, while its revenue climbed to $130.6 million from $127.3 million. The latest results included a $5-million after-tax loss from Zenith’s investments.

For the first nine months of 1990, Zenith posted a 32% drop in earnings, to $24.5 million from $35.8 million, and its nine-month revenue rose 4%, to $381.1 million from $368 million.

Zenith also said the market value of its bond holdings, which include a sizable number of high-risk, high-yield junk bonds, deteriorated in the latest quarter. As of Sept. 30, Zenith’s cost of acquiring the bonds exceeded their market value by $56.4 million; three months earlier, the cost of the bonds exceeded their market value by $38.6 million.