NU Online News Service, Aug. 5, 3:31 p.m. EDT
After last year's second quarter net loss of $342 million, Swiss Re has made an impressive turnaround, reporting net income of $812 million.
The Zurich, Switzerland-based carrier reported earnings per share of $2.37, compared to negative $1.01 for the same period last year.
"Swiss Re's business performed well in the second quarter of 2010," said Stefan Lippe, Swiss Re's chief executive officer said in a statement. "Our underlying earnings power continues to be strong and we benefited this quarter from excellent results in asset management. This proves our ability to generate sustainable earnings in a challenging market environment."
Swiss Re said its property and casualty segment operating income came in at $455 million, down from $896 million for the same period last year.
The performance was impacted by a $130 million increase in its estimated claims for the earthquake in Chile to $630 million.
Claims from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster are estimated to stand at $200 million.
The second quarter combined ratio was 102 compared to 89.4 last year.
Life and health operations had operating income of $142 million in the second quarter compared to an operating loss of $8 million for the same period last year.
Asset management reported operating income of $1.2 billion during the period compared to $472 million last year.
"Looking ahead, we continue to build on our strengths," said Mr. Lippe. "The reinsurance industry is expected to experience moderate but stable growth over the coming years–we anticipate that the property and casualty market will grow an average [of] 6.5 percent and the life and health market by 3.7 percent annually during the decade ahead."
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