Feb 8 (Reuters) - EMC Insurance Group Inc:
* EMC INSURANCE GROUP INC REPORTS 2017 FOURTH QUARTER AND YEAR-END RESULTS AND ANNOUNCES 2018 NON-GAAP OPERATING INCOME* GUIDANCE
* SEES FY 2018 NON-GAAP OPERATING EARNINGS PER SHARE $1.40 TO $1.60
* PROJECTED GAAP COMBINED RATIO OF 100.7 PERCENT FOR YEAR
* PROJECTED GAAP COMBINED RATIO FOR YEAR HAS A LOAD OF 9.0 POINTS FOR CATASTROPHE AND STORM LOSSES
* 2018 GUIDANCE ALSO ASSUMES A LOW-SINGLE DIGIT INCREASE IN INVESTMENT INCOME AND AN EFFECTIVE TAX RATE IN MID-TEENS
* RECORDED ONE-TIME $9.1 MILLION DEFERRED INCOME TAX BENEFIT RESULTING FROM ENACTMENT OF TAX CUTS AND JOBS ACT OF 2017 (TCJA) IN Q4
* FY2018 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $1.67 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* EMC INSURANCE GROUP - QTRLY NON-GAAP OPERATING INCOME PER SHARE $0.67
* Q4 EARNINGS PER SHARE $1.23 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: