Swiss Re, the world's second largest reinsurer after Munich Re, has reported a leap in first-half net profit thanks to a surge in non-life premium income for the period and "positive" results from all business groups.
The group said its outlook for the full year was positive as it expected demand for property-casualty reinsurance to remain strong and as its operating performance continued to improve.
John Coomber, the chief executive officer of the group, said in a statement: "We are pleased with our strong performance in the first half of 2003. Swiss Re expects the hard market to continue and with our focus firmly on profitable technical underwriting, our results should see ongoing improvement."
Swiss Re's net profit rose to SFr691m (£310.2m) from SFr118m for the same period in 2002. This exceeded the average analyst estimate of SFr501m in a Reuters poll.
Non-life premiums, benefiting from rising prices, grew 18% to SFr7.86bn.
Swiss Re's combined ratio improved to 99.8% in the first six months of 2003 from 105.6% a year ago.
Despite a shaky first quarter in financial markets, followed by a modest improvement in the second quarter, Swiss Re's return on investments held steady at 4.8%.
Net investment income fell 13% to SFr2.4bn due to currency effects. The Swiss franc appreciated by 18% against the US dollar over the six-month period.
Total premiums earned increased to SFr14.382bn, a 4% increase on 2002.
