Swiss Reinsurance Co. reported Thursday that the company earned 403 million Swiss francs ($373.4 million) in fourth-quarter net profit, according to Associated Press.
The quarterly profit was a stark increase from the 1.75 billion francs loss it suffered during the year-earlier period.
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The company said earnings per share were 1.18 francs, compared with a loss of 5.34 francs per share in the last three months of 2008. Full-year net profit for 2009 reached 506 million francs compared with a loss of 864 million the previous year.
Despite the rise, the quarterly results fell short of analysts' expectations.
The company’s operating income in its property and casualty business nearly doubled to 853 million francs. Swiss Re's combined ratio improved to 88.3 percent compared with 104.6 percent in the same period the previous year. A combined ratio below 100 percent indicates profitability in the insurance industry, according to AP.
Swiss Re's life and health insurance business saw a fall of operating income to 88 million francs from 224 million.
The asset management unit's return on investments dropped to 3.3 percent from 4.9 percent, partly due to writedowns of 248 million francs.
The company said it aims for a return on equity of 12 percent this year as it improves its investment portfolio and sells off undesirable assets.
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