NU Online News Service, Nov. 8, 3:34 p.m. EST

Liberty Mutual Group said net profits more than doubled from a year ago in the 2010 third quarter, and reiterated in a later conference call that it has no plans to take the entire company public.

Liberty Mutual said that net income for the third quarter was $567 million for the period ended Sept. 30, up 118 percent from the $260 million earned in the same period a year ago.

Pretax operating income was $658 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to $249 million in the year-ago quarter.

Revenues for the three months were $8.387 billion, an increase of $471 million or 5.9 percent over the same period in 2009.

Net written premium for the period was $7.720 billion, an increase of $513 million or 7.1 percent over the same period in 2009.

Liberty Mutual's combined ratio before catastrophes and net incurred losses attributable to prior years was 98.6, a 0.1 point increase from the year-ago period.

Including the impact of catastrophes and net incurred losses attributable to prior years, the combined ratio was 99.2, a decrease of 1.6 points from the same quarter of 2009.

Chairman and CEO Edmund Kelly said, "Overall, we had an excellent quarter with growth in premium writings, profitability and equity."

He added, "In light of the continuing difficult economic and competitive environments, the results underscore the strength of our highly diversified global franchise."

Boston-based Liberty Mutual pulled the plug on an initial public offering of its agency group in early October, citing the poor economic climate and unfavorable pricing.

Liberty Mutual Agency Corporation consists of all of the operations conducted by Liberty Mutual's Agency Markets unit, comprised of property and casualty and specialty insurance carriers that distribute products and services through independent agents and brokers.

Mr. Kelly said Liberty Mutual would keep an eye on the markets and consider re-launching the IPO of a small portion of the company if pricing improved.

Kelly said the decision to delay the IPO was "an easy decision" because the company didn't need the capital.

Special Reports /

Liberty Mutual 3Q Net Income Soars

Related Stories

Recommended For You