Endurance Specialty Holdings yesterday reported a year-end net income of 129.8 million.The gain compares with a 2011 net loss of $117.9 million.The Bermuda-based re/insurer reported a net loss of $40.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2012, versus a net loss of $35.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. Losses were driven largely by damage done by Superstorm Sandy and severe drought throughout the Midwestern US.In the company’s reinsurance sector, Endurance recorded $123.7 million in net catastrophe losses for the fourth quarter from Superstorm Sandy. Its Insurance segment reported Sandy-related losses of $35.1 million and drought related losses of $13.8 million.Both catastrophe events affected the company’s overall combined ratio which was 119.2 percent for the last three months of 2012, versus 112.5 percent in the same time frame for 2011.Despite significant fourth-quarter losses, the company managed to beat Wall Street estimates. The eight analysts polled by Yahoo Finance estimated Endurance would see an operating loss of $2.28 per common share, but the company posted an operating loss of $76.4 million, or $1.80 per diluted common share.Endurance CEO David Cash says all things considered, he’s please with the company’s 2012 results.“2012 was a productive year for Endurance, as we were able to grow book value including dividends by seven percent, while withstanding the impact of the severe drought in the Midwestern US and Superstorm Sandy,” Mr Cash said.“Strategically, I am pleased with the progress we made in 2012 as we grew many of our businesses, augmented our leadership and added specialty trade credit, surety, engineering and weather teams to our portfolio of specialty insurance and reinsurance businesses.“I believe the investment in our leadership and our specialty insurance and reinsurance capabilities position Endurance well for 2013 and the years ahead,” he added.The company wrote about the same amount of business during the quarter as it did in Q4 of 2011 — reporting $262.05 million of gross premium written compared to $262.97 million in 2011.Net premiums written in the insurance segment increased $10.2 million in the fourth quarter as higher premiums in the agriculture, casualty and other specialty lines of business were partially offset by declines in the professional liability and property lines of business.Endurance’s reinsurance segment posted $81.3 million in net premiums written — a $10.1 million decline compared to the fourth quarter of 2011. The company says the 11 percent drop is primarily due to a decline in the casualty line of business and was partially offset by increases in the catastrophe and property lines of business. The increase in catastrophe premiums was largely due to reinstatement premiums related to Superstorm Sandy.The company’s net investment income for the quarter was $38.6 million — a decrease of $2.0 million from the fourth quarter of 2011.The company’s book value per share was $52.88 at year-end, an increase of 4.6 percent from the end of 2011.