Bermuda-based Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd annual earnings more than doubled to $279.2 million as the company benefited from lower catastrophe claims.

The company, which has undergone a major management shake-up since John Charman took over as CEO from David Cash last May, also reported fourth-quarter earnings of $59 million. Operating income, which excludes after-tax realised investment gains and foreign exchange gains and losses, totalled $59.9 million, or $1.35 per diluted share, falling short of the $1.44 per share expected by analysts polled by Yahoo Finance.

Operating return on equity for the year was 11.9 percent, while combined ratio — a measure of underwriting profitability reflecting the proportion of premium dollars spent on claims and expenses — was 90.2 percent.

Mr Charman said the results of the big changes made within the organisation were just starting to bear fruit.

“Our results benefited from lower levels of catastrophe losses and strong favourable reserve development, and we are just beginning to see the positive impact of the significant underwriting investments we have made over the last year,” Mr Charman said.

“Strategically, we have made great progress in the transformation of Endurance into a leading diversified global specialty insurer and reinsurer and I am very pleased with the positive impact of the high quality, market leading underwriting teams that we have quickly and effectively integrated into Endurance.

“Last autumn, our strategic forward planning envisaged our underwriting activity taking place in a soft market environment for the next couple of years; critically, we now have the leadership, underwriting experience and expertise to profitably align and direct Endurance through these exceptionally challenging times.

“My colleagues and I are excited about our prospects for 2014 and are determined to reward our shareholders accordingly.”

Endurance wrote more business in 2013, as gross premiums climbed 4.6 percent to $2.07 billion.

The 90.2 percent combined ratio included 11 percentage points of favourable prior year loss reserve development and 3.7 percentage points of current year catastrophe losses.

Net investment income was $166.2 million, a decrease of $7.1 million from 2012.

Endurance ended 2013 with cash and invested assets of $6.5 billion, which represents a 0.8 percent decrease from the end of 2012.

At the end of 2013, Endurance`s shareholders’ equity was $2.89 billion, or $55.18 per common share, versus $2.71 billion, or $52.88 per share, at December 31, 2012. Total share repurchases amounted to $14.6 million for 2013. No common shares were repurchased during the fourth quarter of 2013.