share, for the quarter ended June 30, about $3.3 million less than for the same period last year.

For the first six months of the financial year the company made a profit of $50.9 million, about $2.1 million less than the same period 1997. IPC president and chief executive officer John Dowling said the first six months of the year marked a return to a more typical level of claims compared to last year when there was a low incidence of catastrophic activity.

The industry reported losses in the US of $3.6 billion in the second quarter, including $650 million from storms from May 30 to June 1 in 12 states. Floods in the UK and other events around the world resulted estimated worldwide losses of about $5 billion in the second quarter.

"The second quarter of 1998 saw more catastrophe activity in the US than all other second quarters since such records have been kept,'' Mr. Dowling said.

"This, together with the floods in the UK in early April, have served as a reminder to primary insurance companies of the importance of maintaining appropriate levels of catastrophe coverage. As such, we believe we should see a stable or increased level of demand for our product, although the continuing high level of competition in the market will mean continued pressure on pricing.'' Mr. Dowling said that despite the increased level of claims the company still generated an annualised return on equity of 19 percent in the six months.

The company wrote premiums in the second quarter of $18.4 million, up 1.3 percent over second quarter 1997. Total premiums written in the six month period was $90.6 million, an increase of 1.1 percent over last year.

The company earned premiums of $31.3 million in the second quarter, and $60.2 million during the first half, compared to $27.3 million in second quarter 1997, and $55.7 million in the first half of 1997.

Net investment income declined seven percent to $7.5 million in the second quarter. Mr. Dowling said the company shifted part of its portfolio to equities at the end of June last year, contributing to the decrease.

Losses incurred were $10.3 million in the second quarter, bringing the total to $14.5 million for the first six months compared to $5.2 million in the first half of 1997. About 50 percent of IPC's losses were reported late from 1997.

Operating income was $21.1 million for the quarter, down $6.3 million from second quarter 1997. Total assets at June 30 were $648.1 million, an increase of 10.8 percent over assets at December 31. Book value per share was $20.81.

IPC announced company subsidiary IPCRe Ltd. has established a five-year revolving credit facility with a syndicate of financial institutions for amounts up to $300 million.

The facility was established to provide liquidity if IPC faces significant claims from a major catastrophic event, chief financial officer John Weale said.