American National Financial, Inc. Reports Record Earnings and Revenues Forthe First Quarter Ended March 31, 2002

April 30, 2002

ORANGE, Calif., /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American National Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANFI), a diversified real estate services company, announced record net earnings and revenues for its first quarter ended March 31, 2002.

• For the 2002 quarter, earnings were $5.8 million or $.72 per diluted  share, compared with earnings of $2.3 million, or $.26 per diluted  share for the 2001 first quarter.
• Revenues for the 2002 quarter increased $16.4 million or 57.5% to  $44.9 million as compared with revenues of $28.5 million for the 2001  first quarter.

Michael C. Lowther, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of American National Financial, Inc. said, "Clearly we are very proud of our record first quarter. It was not only a reflection of continued high transaction volume, but more importantly, it was indicative of increased operating efficiency.

We also look forward to the growth of our underwriter, National Title Insurance of New York, Inc., as a result of our new Las Vegas operation and other agency related activities."

Carl A. Strunk, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of American National Financial, Inc. added, "Our profit retention (pretax earnings less investment related profits as a percentage of gross revenues less investment related income) was 16.5% in the 2002 quarter compared to 8.8% in the comparable 2001 quarter. Our increasing balance sheet strength also provides us the opportunity to pursue value adding acquisitions."

American National Financial, Inc. (ANFI) provides title insurance services and other real estate-related informational services through its subsidiaries in California, Arizona, Nevada and New York through approximately 85 branch offices. The Company also underwrites on a national level through its National Title Insurance of New York, Inc. (National) subsidiary, which is licensed to issue title insurance policies in 34 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. National has offices in New York, Florida, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. ANFI, as part of its overall services, provides ancillary services such as real estate information, trustee sales guarantees, exchange intermediary services, document research services, notary signing services, property management and appraisals. A complete description of the subsidiaries is available at the Company's web site ( www.anfinc.com ).

AMERICAN NATIONAL FINANCIAL, INC. SUMMARY OF EARNINGS
Three months ended March 31, (in thousands, except share and per share data)
2002 2001 (Unaudited)
Gross title premiums $30,469 $18,297
Net title service revenue - related party $24,130 $14,928
Escrow fees 9,688 6,841
Underwriting premiums 3,367 1,519
Ancillary service fees 4,963 3,896
Gain on sale/exchange of equity securities 2,390 1,000
Investment income 375 286
Total revenues 44,913 28,470
Personnel costs 22,638 15,887
Other operating expenses 10,139 7,002
Title plant rent and maintenance 1,942 1,751
Total expenses 34,719 24,640
Earnings before income taxes 10,194 3,830
Income taxes 4,383 1,570
Net earnings $5,811 $2,260
Weighted average shares outstanding during the period, basic basis 7,101,575 8,204,275
Incremental shares from assumed option exercise 924,253 415,885
Weighted average shares outstanding during the period, diluted basis 8,025,828 8,620,160
Basic earnings per share $0.82 $0.28
Diluted earnings per share $0.72 $0.26
SELECTED BALANCE SHEET DATA
March 31, December 31
(in thousands, except per share data) 2002 2001
(Unaudited)
Cash and investment securities available for sale $38,210 $34,739
Total assets 73,646 66,653
Stockholders' equity 39,509 35,913
Book value per share $5.54 $5.06

Source: American National Financial, Inc.


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