FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Swiss Re swung to a net profit in the first three months of the year in figures that were better than expected, as it recovers from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the reinsurer said on Friday.
Net profit was $333 million during the period, compared with a $225 million loss a year earlier. Analysts had expected a small loss, according to a consensus forecast.
Swiss Re and its competitors have faced large claims from the pandemic, such as those for cancelled events. Swiss Re last year posted its first loss since the financial crisis in 2008.
But the company expects to return to profit this year, executives have said.
“We have seen a solid start to 2021 and expect all our businesses to continue delivering a strong underlying performance with diminishing COVID-19 losses,” Chief Executive Christian Mumenthaler said in a statement.
Swiss Re said that nominal prices of its April contract renewals were up 4%, offsetting low interest rates.
(Reporting by Tom Sims and Paul Arnold; Editing by Riham Alkousaa and Caroline Copley)
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