Swiss Re's profits of US$786m in quarter

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND: Switzerland-based reinsurance giant Swiss Re reported a more than nine-fold leap in second-quarter profits on Thursday thanks to a jump in premiums and with exceptional costs weighing down on last year's result.

Despite experiencing a year thick with natural disasters, the world's second largest re-insurance company recorded a net profit of US$786m in the three-month period.

That was up sharply from the US$83m earned in the same quarter in 2012 when it was hit by costs related to ending operations in the United States.

The result largely beat an analyst consensus compiled by Swiss financial newswire AWP which had expected the profit to land at US$675m.

Revenues shot up to US$7.7bn from US$6.6bn a year ago, and was boosted by higher premiums.

Swiss Re chief executive Michel Lies called the earnings "robust" and said that "this comes against the backdrop of high claims, especially those caused by the devastating floods in Europe and Canada."

Lies also confirmed his group's financial targets for the year, which includes bringing down management costs and achieving profitable growth in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Mexico and other growth markets.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge