By Denny Jacob
Travelers posted a sharply lower profit in its latest quarter as catastrophe losses including those from wildfires in California weighed on core earnings.
The property-and-casualty insurer reported first-quarter net income of $395 million, or $1.70 a share, a sharp decline from $1.12 billion, or $4.80 a share, in the prior-year period.
Travelers said the decline in net income was driven by lower core income and net realized investment losses compared with net realized investment gains a year earlier.
Excluding nonrecurring items, core earnings came in at $1.91 a share compared to $4.69 a share in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by FactSet expected 79 cents a share.
Travelers said core income decreased primarily due to higher catastrophe losses, though the figure was partially offset by a higher underlying underwriting gain, among other factors.
Revenue rose to $11.81 billion from $11.23 billion.
Chief Executive Alan Schnitzer said strong net favorable prior-year reserve development and higher investment income more than offset losses from catastrophes including California wildfires in January.
Travelers said first-quarter overall net written premiums rose 3% to $10.52 billion. Analysts expected $10.84 billion.
The New York company on Wednesday also announced a 5% increase to its dividend, bringing the payout up to $1.10 a share.
Write to Denny Jacob at denny.jacob@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 16, 2025 07:31 ET (11:31 GMT)
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