Swiss Re, one of the world's biggest insurers, today reported a near doubling of its third-quarter net profit, allowing it to repay crisis funding from US billionaire Warren Buffett.
Swiss Re said in a statement that third-quarter net profit reached $618m, a 97% increase over the same time last year and above analysts' expectations.
The company, a pillar of the global reinsurance industry, has gradually been rebuilding its capital base in a business turnaround since it shed the risky investment policy that left it trembling about two years ago.
In 2008, Swiss Re posted its biggest-ever loss of $864m, forcing the group to turn to Wall Street sage Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway for fresh funds.
'Today we are pleased to report that our improved capital position allowed us to reach an agreement to repay Berkshire Hathaway, with no additional charge for bringing forward the repayment date,' Swiss Re chief executive Stefan Lippe said.
Swiss Re said interest charges and a 20% premium on the Berkshire Hathaway capital of about $1 billion would be booked onto its accounts in the final quarter of 2010.
The group's core property and casualty business grew in the third quarter with operating income of $1.1 billion, despite $160ms in costs from September's earthquake in New Zealand, the biggest to hit the country in almost 80 years.
