FNF Group Reports Third Quarter 2015 Adjusted EPS of $0.60, Adjusted Pre-Tax Title Margin of 14.9%, Claims Provision Reduction to 5.5%, BKFS Revenue Growth of 9% and BKFS Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 44.7%

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Oct. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Fidelity National Financial, Inc. today reported the operating results of FNF Group  (NYSE:FNF), a leading provider of title insurance, technology and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries, for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2015.

• Total revenue of approximately $2.0 billion in the third quarter versus $1.7 billion in the third quarter of 2014
• Adjusted third quarter net earnings of $171 million versus adjusted net earnings of $144 million for the third quarter of 2014
• Adjusted third quarter diluted EPS of $0.60 versus adjusted diluted EPS of $0.51 in the third quarter of 2014
• Third quarter free cash flow provided of $231 million versus $281 million provided in the third quarter of 2014
• Repurchased 2.35 million shares of FNF common stock for approximately $88 million in the third quarter

Title

• Approximately $1.8 billion in total revenue, adjusted pre-tax earnings of $268 million and adjusted pre-tax title margin of 14.9% for the third quarter versus approximately $1.5 billion in total revenue, adjusted pre-tax earnings of $224 million and an adjusted pre-tax title margin of 14.8% in the third quarter of 2014
• Adjusted pre-tax title margin of 14.9% was a 20 basis point improvement over the third quarter 2014 adjusted pre-tax title margin of 14.8%
• Claims loss provision was reduced to 5.5% for the third quarter driven by significantly lower title loss payments related to policy years 2009-2014
• ServiceLink generated $220 million in revenue, adjusted EBITDA of $30 million, an adjusted EBITDA margin of 14%, adjusted pre-tax earnings of $27 million and an adjusted pre-tax margin of 12% for the third quarter
• Open orders per day of 8,031 for the third quarter versus 7,516 open orders per day for the third quarter of 2014
• Closed orders per day of 5,906 for the third quarter versus 5,438 closed orders per day for the third quarter of 2014
• Third quarter purchase orders opened and closed increased by 8% and 11%, respectively, versus the third quarter of 2014; purchase orders opened and closed increased by 9% and 11%, respectively, versus the third quarter of 2014, for FNTG only (excluding ServiceLink)
• Total commercial revenue of $258 million, a 15% increase over total commercial revenue in the third quarter of 2014; third quarter national commercial title revenue of $146 million, a 7% increase from the third quarter of 2014, driven by a 13% improvement in the commercial fee per file and a 5% decrease in closed orders; open national commercial orders decreased by 2% over the prior year
• Overall third quarter average fee per file of $2,133, a 3% increase versus the third quarter of 2014
• Title claims paid of $70 million, a decrease of $11 million, or 14%, from the third quarter of 2014

Title Orders

BKFS

• Revenue of $234 million, led by Servicing Technology revenue of approximately $162 million
• Revenue growth of 9% for the third quarter compared to the third quarter of 2014, led by strong growth in Data & Analytics and Origination Technology
• Adjusted EBITDA of $105 million and adjusted EBITDA margin of 44.7%

"We generated a solid 14.9% adjusted pre-tax title margin this quarter, essentially at the lower end of our normalized title margin target range," said Chairman William P. Foley, II.  "The commercial market remains very strong, the residential purchase market continues to steadily improve and the residential refinance market has been declining, although a recent drop in rates may provide a further period of improving refinance volumes.  We are pleased with our title margin performance this quarter, but to consistently reach and move higher in our 15%-20% normalized pre-tax title margin target range, we need to see continued improvement in the residential purchase market.  Additionally, as we enter the seasonally slower fourth quarter, our title margins will have to absorb the cost and more lengthy closing process resulting from the new TILA-RESPA closing disclosure requirements.

"Black Knight continues to meet and exceed our high expectations, generating 9% revenue growth, $105 million in adjusted EBITDA and a 44.7% adjusted EBITDA margin in the third quarter.  FNF's Black Knight ownership stake is currently worth approximately $2.9 billion, or approximately $10 per  FNF share, and we believe that a publicly-traded Black Knight will continue to be a source of value creation for FNF shareholders in the future." 

Conference Call
We will host a call with investors and analysts to discuss third quarter 2015 FNF Group results on Wednesday, October 28, 2015, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.  A live webcast of the conference call will be available on the Events and Multimedia page of the FNF Investor Relations website at www.fnf.com.  The conference call replay will be available via webcast through the FNF Investor Relations website at www.fnf.com.  The telephone replay will be available from 11:00 a.m. Eastern time on October 28, 2015, through November 4, 2015, by dialing 800-475-6701 (USA) or 320-365-3844 (International).  The access code will be 370124.

About Fidelity National Financial, Inc.
Fidelity National Financial, Inc. is organized into two groups, FNF Group (NYSE: FNF) and FNFV Group (NYSE: FNFV).  FNF is a leading provider of title insurance, technology and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries.  FNF is the nation's largest title insurance company through its title insurance underwriters - Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title, Alamo Title and National Title of New York - that collectively issue more title insurance policies than any other title company in the United States.  FNF also provides industry-leading mortgage technology solutions and transaction services, including MSP®, the leading residential mortgage servicing technology platform in the U.S., through its majority-owned subsidiaries, Black Knight Financial Services, Inc. and ServiceLink Holdings, LLC.  FNFV holds majority and minority equity investment stakes in a number of entities, including American Blue Ribbon Holdings, LLC, Ceridian HCM, Inc., Fleetcor Technologies, Inc. and Digital Insurance, Inc.  More information about FNF and FNFV can be found at www.fnf.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is the term used to refer to the standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting. GAAP includes the standards, conventions, and rules accountants follow in recording and summarizing transactions and in the preparation of financial statements. In addition to reporting financial results in accordance with GAAP, the Company has provided non-GAAP financial measures, which it believes are useful to help investors better understand its financial performance, competitive position and prospects for the future. These non-GAAP measures include earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization (Adjusted EBITDA), adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation as a percent of adjusted revenue (Adjusted EBITDA margin), adjusted net earnings, adjusted EPS and free cash flow.

Any non-GAAP measures should be considered in context with the GAAP financial presentation and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP net earnings. Further, FNF's non-GAAP measures may be calculated differently from similarly titled measures of other companies. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to related GAAP measures are provided below.

Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements regarding our expectations, hopes, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. Because such statements are based on expectations as to future financial and operating results and are not statements of fact, actual results may differ materially from those projected. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.  The risks and uncertainties which forward-looking statements are subject to include, but are not limited to: changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; weakness or adverse changes in the level of real estate activity, which may be caused by, among other things, high or increasing interest rates, a limited supply of mortgage funding or a weak U. S. economy; our potential inability to find suitable acquisition candidates, acquisitions in lines of business that will not necessarily be limited to our traditional areas of focus, or difficulties in integrating acquisitions; our dependence on distributions from our title insurance underwriters as a main source of cash flow; significant competition that our operating subsidiaries face; compliance with extensive government regulation of our operating subsidiaries.

This press release should be read in conjunction with the press release filed for the results of FNFV on this same date as well as the risks detailed in the "Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information," "Risk Factors" and other sections of the Company's Form 10-Q, 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.