Earnings per Ordinary Share

Basic earnings per ordinary share are calculated by dividing net income available to holders of Aspen Holdings’ ordinary shares by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding. Net income available to ordinary shareholders is calculated by deducting preference share dividends and net income/(loss) attributable to non-controlling interest from net income/(loss) after tax for the period. Diluted earnings per ordinary share are based on the weighted average number of ordinary shares and dilutive potential ordinary shares outstanding during the period of calculation using the treasury stock method. The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively:



	Twelve Months Ended December 31,
	2018			2017			2016


Net (loss)/income	$	(145.8	)	$	(266.4	)	$	203.4
Preference share dividends	(30.5		)	(36.2		)	(41.8		)
Preference share redemption costs ⁽¹⁾	—			(8.0		)	—
Net profit attributable to non-controlling interest	(1.0		)	(1.3		)	(0.1		)
Basic and diluted net (loss)/income available to ordinary shareholders	$	(177.3	)	$	(311.9	)	$	161.5
Ordinary shares:
Basic weighted average ordinary shares	59,655,507			59,753,886			60,478,740
Weighted average effect of dilutive securities^{(2) (3)}	—			—			1,381,949
Total diluted weighted average ordinary shares	59,655,507			59,753,886			61,860,689
(Loss) Earnings per ordinary share:
Basic	$	(2.97	)	$	(5.22	)	$	2.67
Diluted ⁽³⁾	$	(2.97	)	$	(5.22	)	$	2.61

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⁽¹⁾	The $8.0 million deduction from net income in 2017 is attributable to the reclassification from additional paid-in capital to retained earnings representing the difference between the capital raised upon issuance of the 7.401% Preference Shares and 7.250% Preference Shares, net of issuance costs, and the final redemption costs of $293.2 million.


⁽²⁾	Dilutive securities consist of employee restricted share units and performance shares associated with the Company’s long term incentive plan, employee share purchase plans and director restricted stock units and options as described in Note 17.


⁽³⁾	The basic and diluted number of ordinary shares is the same in 2018 and 2017 because the inclusion of dilutive securities in a loss making period would be anti-dilutive.

Dividends. On February 6, 2019, the Company’s Board of Directors declared the following dividends:



	Dividend		Payable on:	Record Date:
5.95% Preference Shares	$	0.3719	April 1, 2019	March 15, 2019
5.625% Preference Shares	$	0.3516	April 1, 2019	March 15, 2019

The Merger Agreement, dated August 27, 2018, restricts the Company from declaring or paying any dividends other than the quarterly dividends on Aspen’s ordinary shares that were previously declared and publicly announced prior to the date of the Merger Agreement and periodic cash dividends on the Preference Shares in accordance with the terms of the applicable certificate of designation.