By Ed Frankl
Swiss Re AG on Friday said first-half profits fell as it was hit by lower investment results and reserves put aside for impacts from the war in Ukraine.
The Zurich-based reinsurer said net profit was $157 million in the six months to the end of June, down from $1.05 billion in the same period of last year.
However, the company said it improved from a challenging start to the year. Profit was $405 million in the second quarter alone after a loss in the 1Q, when the company took $283 million provisions for impacts from the invasion of Ukraine, the company said.
Return on investments slumped to 1.2% in 1H from 3.2% last year, hit by equity mark-to-market losses of around $400 million, while net premiums earned and fee income increased just 1.9% on year to $21.20 billion, impacted by foreign -exchange developments.
The profit figure beat expectations of $62 million, while net premiums were slightly below the $21.68 billion predicted, according to analysts’ consensus provided by the company.
Swiss Re took on $938 million in natural-catastrophe claims, around $270 million more than expected, including for flooding in Australia and South Africa, February storms in Europe, and a series of hailstorms in France in June.
It flagged that it has $1.2 billion of the $1.9 billion full-year natural-catastrophe budget allocated for the remainder of the year.
Write to Ed Frankl at [email protected]
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Credit: www.marketwatch.com /