ACE Q1 Net Income up 50% to $567 Million; Operating Income $669 Million

ACE Limited reported from its Zurich headquarters that net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 was $567 million, or $1.69 per share, compared to $377 million, or $1.10 per share for the same quarter last year.

Income excluding net realized gains (losses) was $669 million, or $1.99 per share, compared to $725 million, or $2.14 per share in Q1 2008. “The net realized and unrealized losses after tax were $291 million due to the mark-to-market pricing impact caused by continued widening of credit spreads and the decline in global equity markets,” said the bulletin.

“Realized losses due to credit impairment were $27 million. Book value increased $272 million, up 2 percent from December 31, 2008. Annualized return on average equity was 18.4 percent. The property and casualty (P&C) combined ratio was 87.5 percent.”

Chairman and CEO Evan G. Greenberg commented: “ACE had a good first quarter, marked by strong operating and net income, with all divisions of the company making a positive contribution to results. Book value grew 2 percent and our ROE was over 18 percent.

“The strong U.S. dollar had a substantial and negative impact on our P&C premium revenue, which grew 7 percent in the quarter after adjusting for foreign exchange. We benefited from a generally firming market, particularly in our P&C reinsurance and global retail P&C insurance businesses. We also continued to benefit from the consolidation of Combined Insurance Company in our results.

“As the year goes on, I expect revenue growth to remain under pressure due to global recessionary conditions and foreign exchange. While many of our customers’ exposures are down due to reduced business activity, and many companies are in search of more affordable insurance alternatives, the quality of our portfolio of risks continues to improve given the firming pricing environment and the client flight to capability of a company like ACE.”

The company will host an earnings conference call and webcast today, April 29, 2009, beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET. The earnings conference call will be available via live and archived webcast at www.acelimited.com or by dialing 877-718-5111 (within the United States) or 719-325-4786 (international); passcode 4963586.

The complete report and additional information is available on the ACE web site.

Source: ACE Limited