Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. said its second-quarter profit
declined as revenue from premiums and investment income fell.
In January, Axis said it planned on merging with Bermuda-based
reinsurer PartnerRe Ltd. in effort to form one of the world's
biggest reinsurance and specialist insurance companies. But Italian
investment firm Exor SpA has started a merger tug of war with Axis,
sweetening its bid for PartnerRe in an effort to thwart the
deal.
For the latest quarter, Axis reported a profit of $73.4 million,
or 63 cents a share after the payout of preferred dividends,
compared with a year-earlier profit of $200.7 million, or $1.79 a
share.
Operating income in the second quarter was 93 cents a share,
down from $1.63 a share in the prior-year period. Revenue dropped
11% to $1.02 billion from $1.15 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had projected a profit of
$1.02 a share on $1.02 billion in revenue.
Net premiums earned fell 5.9% to $941.2 million. Meanwhile,
investment income declined by 22% to $88.5 million from $114.9
million.
Shares of Axis, up 25% in the past 12 months, were inactive
after hours.
Write to Cassandra Jaramillo at cassandra.jaramillo@wsj.com
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