Property and casualty insurer The Travelers Cos., which has major Hartford operations, said its first quarter profits jumped 19 percent due to lower catastrophe losses and underwriting gains.
For three months ended March 31, the New York-based insurer posted net income of $796 million, or $2.99 a diluted share, up from $669 million, or $2.42 a diluted share, in the first quarter of 2018.
The company reported an underwriting gain of $395 million, up more than 50 percent vs. a $258 million gain in the year-ago period.
Meantime, catastrophe losses fell by $161 million to $193 million during the quarter, which helped offset a 3.5 percent drop in net investment income, which is how much the company earns from investments.
Total revenues climbed to $7.6 billion from $7.2 billion a year earlier, surpassing estimates of $7.1 billion, according to financial data and software company FactSet, which is headquartered in Norwalk.
“Our strong first quarter performance in terms of both profitability and production is a terrific start to the year, and we continued to make significant progress on our ambitious innovation agenda,” said Travelers CEO and Chairman Alan Schnitzer.
Travelers’ pre-market shares, as of 9:26 a.m., were being traded at $137.50, up from $137.14 on Thursday, according to Nasdaq.
The profitable first quarter for Travelers comes after it notched a 12.7 percent spike in profits in the fourth quarter of 2018. It finished last year with net income of more than $2.5 billion, representing an increase of $467 million.
