Swiss Re reports net profit up 2%, short of forecasts

Switzerland-based reinsurance giant Swiss Re said on Wednesday that its net profit rose by 2.0 percent to $802 million (600 million euros) in the second quarter.

The figure fell short of a consensus forecast by analysts polled by Swiss financial newswire AWP, who had tipped the group to make an average of $894 million.
Premiums rose by 11 percent to $7.5 billion, Swiss Re,  said, in a statement.
The company is a leader in the reinsurance business of taking on and therefore spreading risk accepted by mainline insurers
Its combined ratio, an indicator of an insurer's performance which divides its claims and expense ratios by premiums revenues, was 93.5 percent.
That compared with 101.1 percent in the second quarter of 2013.
A combined ratio of less than 100 percent indicates that an insurer is in profitable territory.
Swiss Re chief executive Michel Lies was upbeat about the performance.
"We see the insurance market generally softening," he said.
"Thanks to our leading position we continue to take advantage of opportunities as they arise –- for example in high growth markets –- and actively manage our overall portfolio. I am confident that Swiss Re will remain successful at every stage of the cycle," he added.