Ace Ltd. boosted its profits by 50 percent for the opening quarter of 2009, despite the negative impact of a strong US dollar on its property and catastrophe (P&C) revenue.

The insurance company's net income rose from $377 million or $1.10 per share in Q1 2008 to $567 million or $1.69 per share for the same period this year.

Gross premiums written, meanwhile, were up slightly at $4.5 billion in the first quarter compared to $4.4 billion last year.

Evan Greenberg, chairman and CEO of Ace Ltd., said: "Ace had a good first quarter, marked by strong operating and net income, with all divisions of the company making a positive contribution to results. Book value grew two percent and our ROE was over 18 percent.

"The strong US dollar had a substantial and negative impact on our P&C premium revenue, which grew seven percent in the quarter after adjusting for foreign exchange. We benefited from a generally firming market, particularly in our P&C reinsurance and global retail P&C insurance businesses. We also continued to benefit from the consolidation of Combined Insurance Company in our results."