Axis Capital reinsurance segment damages 2015 profits
Bermuda-based AXIS Capital Holdings has reported a fall in its profits for 2015.
The firm posted a net income of $602 million, or $6.04 per diluted common share, for the full year of 2015, compared with $771 million, or $7.29 per diluted common share, for 2014.
AXIS Capital’s gross premiums written also decreased by $108 million to $4.6 billion for the full year of 2015, with a decrease of $155 million, or 7 percent in the firm’s reinsurance segment, partially offset by an increase of $48 million, or 2 percent in its insurance segment.
Combined ratio for 2015 also rose to 94.7 percent, compared with 91.6 percent in 2014.
"We are pleased to report growth in diluted book value per share, adjusted for dividends, of 9 percent for 2015,” said Albert Benchimol, president and chief executive of AXIS Capital.
“While 2015 was a challenging year on many fronts, it was also a year of powerful maturation across our organisation, resulting in a stronger, more focused AXIS. Over the course of the year, we steered the company towards a future of enhanced profitability and stability.
“Importantly, we are executing on the right actions for the current challenging market conditions-improving the quality of our book of business, growing the scale and profitability of recent initiatives, and tightening expense control and capital efficiency. Normalising for the unusual frequency of mid-sized energy losses this year, our results for the quarter and the year demonstrated progress on all of these fronts."
