Progressive reported a net loss of $135.2 million, or 20 cents a share, for the month of August, compared to a profit of $76.9 million, or 11 cents a share, in August 2007.
Progressive said the loss last month included writedowns totaling $324.7 milion for securities determined to have what the company called “other-than-temporary declines” in market value. Of that total, $278.2 million of the writedowns were related to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred and common stock.
Progressive said it’s “continuing to assess the valuation declines of these and other securities in our portfolio” to determine the extent to which those securities are impaired on an other-than-temporary basis. Progressive said it will include any additional writedowns of its Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities in its release about September results.
The company did not offer an estimate of future potential writedowns. However, Progressive did disclose that its holdings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred stock had a fair value of $209.3 million as of Aug. 31 but only $38 million as of Sept. 8, the day after the federal government announced that it had taken over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Progressive also noted that it no longer expected to receive quarterly dividends from its preferred stock holdings in the two companies. Progressive said it received in June about $8 million of second-quarter dividends from its Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred stock.
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