Zenith National Profit Falls 43% in 4th Quarter

Zenith National Insurance Corp. said its fourth-quarter profit tumbled 43% from a year earlier on little change in revenue.

The Woodland Hills insurer said its net income dropped to $5.3 million in the quarter that ended Dec. 31 from $9.24 million a year earlier, while its revenue inched up to $115.9 million from $115.5 million.

The latest quarter reflected, among other things, a net loss of about $2 million related to the earthquake in Northern California last fall, Zenith said.

For all of 1989, Zenith’s profit fell 11%, to $41.1 million from $46.3 million the previous year, and its annual revenue rose to $483.9 million from $472 million.