Validus Holdings Ltd. returned to profit of almost $500 million for the third quarter following its takeover of IPC Holdings Ltd. in September.

The reinsurer net income of $499.2 million compared with a net loss of $126.3 million for the same period last year.

Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 was $731.6 million or $8.65 per share versus $16.1 million or 14 cents per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2008.

Net operating income for the three months ended September 30, 2009 was $145.6 million or $1.52 per share, compared with a net operating loss of $53.1 million or 73 cents per common share, for the three months ended September 30, 2008.

Validus' chairman and CEO Ed Noonan, said: "We completed the IPC amalgamation on September 4, 2009. As a consequence of the acquisition and of strong underlying financial results for our Validus Re and Talbot segments, we closed the quarter with total shareholders' equity of $3.97 billion, total assets of $7.18 billion and total investments and cash of $5.71 billion.

"Diluted book value per share rose to $28.61 at September 30, 2009, which when combined with our 20-cent quarterly dividend resulted in an increase in diluted book value per share plus dividends of 10.5 percent in the quarter. Looking toward 2010, we approach the January renewal season with $4.3 billion of capital and the ability and intent to support our clients with our expanded resources."

Gross premiums written for the three months ended September 30, 2009 were $331 million versus $269.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2008, an increase of $61.8 million or 23 percent.

The company also recorded a combined ratio of 66.7 percent, including $32 million of favourable prior year loss reserve development, benefiting the loss ratio by 8.5 percentage points.