Des Moines-based EMC Insurance Group Inc. today reported net income of $26.2 million, or $1.23 per share, for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with net income of $21.3 million, or $1.01 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2016. The increase was primarily attributed to a one-time $9.1 million deferred income tax benefit resulting from the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the company said. Excluding this deferred income tax benefit, net income would have declined by about $4.2 million. For the year ended Dec. 31, EMC reported net income of $39.2 million, or $1.84 per share, compared with $46.2 million, or $2.20 per share, in the prior year. “Considering the extraordinary catastrophe and storm losses incurred by the insurance industry during the year, we are satisfied with our 2017 results,” EMC President and CEO Bruce Kelley said in a statement. “The property and casualty insurance segment continued to perform well as the underlying loss and settlement expense ratio improved during the second half of the year.” Kelley said that intercompany reinsurance programs EMC implemented in 2016 have performed as expected to reduce the volatility of earnings.