Travelers Cos. said Thursday its second quarter profits shrunk by 41% due to higher catastrophe losses and lower investment gains.
Still, the New York-based property and casualty insurer with major operations in Hartford, said it saw growth across its business, reporting a double-digit net premium increase and a 5% increase in overall revenues.
Travelers said its second quarter profits totaled $551 million, or $2.27 per diluted share, vs. $934 million, or $3.66 per share, in the year-ago period.
The results, Reuters reported, beat the expectations of analysts, who, on average, expected a profit of $1.97 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Revenues totaled $9.1 billion vs. $8.7 billion in the year-ago period. Total net written premiums, or how much money the insurer took in from policyholders, reached $9 billion vs. $8.1 billion a year earlier.
Travelers said it saw double-digit percentage growth in all three of its major business lines (business insurance up 10%, bond and specialty insurance up 13% and personal insurance up 12%).
Catastrophe losses nearly doubled in the quarter to $746 million.
Travelers Cos. Chairman and CEO Alan Schnitzer said the company also returned $725 million to shareholders during the quarter, including $500 million of share repurchases.
