Bermuda-based RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. fourth quarter earnings.

RenaissanceRe yesterday reported a net loss of $10 million a share in the fourth quarter ended December 31, after taking a $40.1 million charge for "adverse development'' at Nobel.

RenaissanceRe had net income of $31.4 million in fourth quarter 1997.

After the $40.1 million Nobel charge, and $6.9 million in realised losses on investments, RenaissanceRe had net income in the 1998 year of $74.58 million, down 46.4 percent from the 1997 year.

RenaissanceRe warned the market three weeks ago about the $40.1 million charge for Nobel. RenaissanceRe also said that it was putting Nobel's business units up for sale only eight months after buying the company. Renaissance US businesses still includes subsidiaries Glencoe Insurance Ltd. and DeSoto Insurance. In total Glencoe, DeSoto, and Nobel have about 300 employees in the US. The three subsidiaries were part of what RenaissanceRe called a strategy of "focused diversification'' into the primary insurance market.

RenaissanceRe's fourth quarter loss works out to a loss of 46 cents per share.

Without the Nobel charge and realised investment losses, net operating income was $30.2 million, or $1.38 a share, down from the $35.2 million for fourth quarter 1997. For the year the company reported net operating income of $121.5 million, or $5.42 a share, compared with $142.1 million, or $6.19 a share in 1997.

The $40.1 million charge is made up of after-tax losses of $30 million of adverse development on Nobel's surety and casualty reserves, $5 million for a goodwill write down, and $5 million in other charges. Nobel is an insurer of low-cost homes and is a casualty underwriter for the explosives, specialty commercial trucking, propane, personal lines and surety bonds industries.

Nobel charge puts strain on reinsurer's Q4 results When the Nobel charge was announced, the company stated that Keith Hynes, who was in charge of the Nobel operations, would be leaving the company on March 31. Mr. Hynes was executive vice president of primary operations at RenaissanceRe, and headed Renaissance US Holdings, Inc.

RenaissanceRe chairman, president and chief executive officer James Stanard said despite the losses the company core business remained strong. The company fared well in what turned out to be the third worst year for insured US catastrophe losses due to Hurricane Georges and storms in the mid-west.

"Our good results in this difficult environment reinforce our position as a leader in managing catastrophe risk,'' he said. "Although we are disappointed with our acquisition of Nobel, our other primary operations of DeSoto and Glencoe continue to perform as planned.'' Renaissance wrote gross premiums for the year of $270.5 million, compared with $228.3 million in 1997. Net premiums were $195 million, down about $800,000 from the previous year.

Net investment income, excluding realised investment losses, was $52.8 million, compared with $51.1 million in 1997.

During the year RenaissanceRe repurchased 1.02 million shares for about $42.7 million. The company has the authority to repurchase an additional $7.3 million of its shares as at December 31.

Since reaching $47.625 in August 1998, RenaissanceRe's shares have fallen steadily to a low of $33.188 on January 27.

Shareholders' equity at December 31 was $612.2 million, compared with $598.7 million at the end of 1997. Book value per common share was $28.28 at December 31, 1998.