EMC Insurance Group Inc. today reported operating income of $15.42 million for the fourth quarter, compared with operating income of $12.49 million for the same period in 2013. Fourth-quarter net income, including realized investment gains and losses, totaled $16.15 million, or $1.19 per share, compared with $15.84 million, or $1.20 per share for the fourth quarter of 2013. The company reported its best fourth-quarter operating income per share – $1.14 – since 2005, which “provided a strong finish to a somewhat challenging year,” EMC President and CEO Bruce Kelley said in a release. For the year ended Dec. 31, premiums earned increased 4.9 percent, with a 7.6 percent increase in the property and casualty insurance segment partially offset by a 3.6 percent decline in the reinsurance segment.