St. Paul Travelers, helped by stronger-than-expected investment income, reported better results than anticipated, despite an overall hurricane-related dip in profits.
The St. Paul, Minn.-based company listed $162 million in third-quarter net income, compared to $340 million for the period in 2004.
The company suffered catastrophe losses for the period of $1 billion on an after-tax basis, compared to $402 million in the comparable year-ago period.
Bear Stearns analyst David Small said the results were aided by investment income that was $83 million higher than his company expected and 22 percent higher than the comparable year-ago period.
"Catastrophe losses were roughly in line with expectations, and Katrina losses were almost exactly where the company had indicated," Mr. Small wrote in a note to investors.
The combined ratio for the quarter was 116.2. Excluding catastrophe losses and net favorable prior-year reserve development, the figure fell to 87.9.
"Similar to what we have seen from others, underlying business trends looked sound, especially on personal lines and specialty pieces of business," Mr. Small wrote.
The current quarter also includes after-tax income from discontinued operations of $87 million, primarily from the disposition of St. Paul's equity stake in Nuveen Investments.
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