Hannover Re 2Q Net Jumps Over 100 Percent

NU Online News Service, Aug. 6, 3:52 p.m. EDT

Hannover Re reported second quarter net income of EUR202.9 million ($291.1 million at current exchange rate), an over 100 percent increase compared to 2008 net income for the period of EUR100.8 million ($144.6 million).

The Hannover, Germany-based reinsurer posted improvement in both written premiums and investments in the quarter compared to the same period a year ago.

For the first six months of the year, Hannover Re said it had EUR419 million ($601.1 million) in net income compared to EUR252.2 million ($361.8 million) in the first half of last year.

Gross written premiums in the 2009 second quarter rose to EUR2.6 billion ($3.7 billion), up from EUR1.9 billion ($2.7 million) in the 2008 second quarter. For the first six months of 2009, gross written premiums were EUR5.3 billion ($7.6 billion), compared to EUR4.1 billion ($5.9 billion) in the first half of 2008.

"This significant increase derived in large measure from organic growth, although the acquisition of the ING life reinsurance portfolio was also a factor here," Hannover Re chief executive officer Ulrich Wallin explained.

Net premiums earned climbed to EUR2.4 billion ($3.4 billion) in the quarter compared to EUR1.7 billion ($2.4 billion) a year ago.

The company reported a 2009 second quarter combined ratio of 98.9, up from 97.4 in the 2008 second quarter.

Net investment income for the quarter increased over 103 percent to EUR371 million ($532.2 million) from EUR182.5 million ($261.8 million) a year ago.

For the first six months of the year, net investment income, reported at EUR569.2 million ($816.5 million), is up almost 28 percent over the previous year's first six months. It was "assisted first and foremost by the improvement in unrealized gains and the reduced volume of write-downs. This figure includes income from interest on deposits, which at EUR144.9 million ($207.9 million) was substantially higher than in the comparable period of the previous year," the company said.

Speaking to the results in general, Mr. Wallin said, "We achieved gratifying results in both our underwriting business and on the investments side and we are therefore well on track to generate the forecast return on equity of at least 18 percent for the full 2009 financial year."