Third Point Re reports healthy return to profit

Third Point Re has reported net income of $44.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2017, an improvement on the net loss of $46.7 million it made for the same period of 2016.

For the year ended December 31, 2017, Third Point Re reported net income of $277.8 million, a substantial increase from the $27.6 million it made in the year ended December 31, 2016.

"Third Point Re generated a market leading return for its shareholders in 2017.  Our return on equity was 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter bringing the full year to 20.1 percent, driven largely by strong investment performance," said Rob Bredahl, president and chief executive officer.  "Despite high levels of natural catastrophes throughout 2017, we produced a combined ratio of 107.1 percent in the fourth quarter and 107.7 percent for the year.  We have been encouraged by recent improvements in reinsurance terms and conditions and underlying pricing and expect our underwriting results to improve over the next 12 to 24 months. We remain confident that the improving underwriting environment and our proven investment strategy will continue to produce attractive returns for our shareholders over time."

Gross premiums written over the last quarter of 2017 came to $164.2 million, more than double the figure of $80.8 million that it reported for the same period of 2016. Total gross premiums written for 2017 came to $641.6 million, again up on the $617.4 million that it wrote over 2016.

Third Point Re stated that it did not have any catastrophe losses for the three months ended December 31, 2017. The net underwriting results and combined ratio for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 included $5.3 million, or 1.0 percentage point, related to 2017 catastrophes. It recorded $2.5 million of net favourable reserve development for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2017, related to changes in estimates of prior years' loss reserves and the related impact of acquisition costs.