Initial second quarter Bermuda reinsurer results show strong earnings with less-than-stellar premium growth, according to investment bank analysts.

Everest Re reported net income rose 13.5 percent in the quarter to $220.4 million, compared to $194 million in the 2005 period.

Partner Re posted net income of $77.5 million in the quarter, compared to $159 million in the year-ago period. The 52 percent decline could be attributed in part to net realized after-tax investment losses of $47 million, compared to gains of $37 million in the prior year period.

Morgan Stanley analyst William Wilt said Everest earnings beat the consensus but on “mixed quality,” while Partner Re's earnings were in line but on “good quality.”

All in all, the analyst saw a favorable trend for property catastrophe reinsurance writers.

Both Mr. Wilt and Bear Stearns analyst David Small took note of Everest Re's report of a 30 percent decline in U.S. reinsurance operations' net premium written figures.

“We suspect much of the reinsurance shortfall was driven by timing differences as Everest repositions that book, and we largely expected continued declines in insurance operations as the California comp and credit books roll off,” Mr. Small wrote.

Mr. Small also said that Everest's adverse development from the last year's storms and an 18 percent decline in net premiums written might overshadow the carrier's strong underlying profitability.

“If on the call tomorrow, management fails to highlight robust July 1 renewals and outlook for top-line growth acceleration, we suspect shares may trade lower, given investor frustration with continued adverse storm development and weak revenues,” he wrote.

Despite the fact that Everest management predicted stronger premium growth in the second half with the 18 percent decline indicating unwanted business, “the decline in production is meaningfully greater than most expected,” Mr. Small wrote.

Given the length of time from the 2005 storms, the adverse development will come as a surprise to investors, Mr. Small wrote. But the solid 22 percent loss ratio in the company's specialty segment helped ease that pain somewhat, he reported.

Mr. Wilt wrote that Partner Re's top-line growth was in line with expectations and took special note of positive underlying trends from its WorldWide Specialty short tail book and its U.S. operations.

In the end, the analyst said he expects more upside earnings reports from reinsurers this quarter.

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