Axis Capital first quarter 2006 income jumped 28 percent on stable underwriting income and increased investment income to $195.2 million compared with $151.8 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2005.

Operating income was $205.2 million, or $1.25 per share, compared with $152.7 million, or 95 cents per share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2005.

Axis Capital was expected to make $1.18 a share in the period, according to the average estimate of 13 analysts in a Thomson First Call survey.

John Charman, Chief Executive Officer and President of AXIS Capital, said that the company?s annualised return on average common equity of 25.4 percent for this first quarter of 2006 was a ?powerful testament? to the core earnings power of the company.

?Within a week of Hurricane Katrina, we immediately repositioned our underwriting and risk management at AXIS to maximise the inevitable opportunities in the catastrophe-exposed areas of our business and to simultaneously mitigate volatility in the portfolio throughout the year.

?Our uncompromising pricing strategy coupled with our more refined determination of risk have been adjusted to take into account the increased cost of capital associated with catastrophe-exposed business,? he said.

Excluding the impact of unfavourable exchange movements, our gross premiums were in line with those of last year.

Mr. Charman said that while competition increased in geographies and lines of business not exposed to peak natural perils, Axis capital remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of underwriting discipline.

He said: ?We continue to be strategically and financially well placed to select the very best opportunities in all areas.

?We expect that the structural shift in the marketplace commenced last year will intensify and broaden throughout the year and our underwriting operations are prepared to take advantage of these positive developments.?