PartnerRe Ltd comfortably exceeded Wall Street’s expectations as it reported net income of $295.7 million and its book value hit a record high.

The profit, which included net after-tax realised and unrealised gains on investments of $115.8 million, broke down to $5.61 per share, compared to $210.5 million, or $3.53 per share in the same period of last year.

Operating earnings were $176.9 million, or $3.36 per share, for the first quarter, beating the $2.56 per share consensus of analysts tracked by Yahoo Finance. This compares to operating earnings of $202.1 million, or $3.39 per share, for the first quarter of 2013.

PartnerRe chief executive officer Costas Miranthis said: “I am pleased to report a strong start to 2014, with first quarter results reflecting solid underwriting performance and improved financial markets.

“On a dividend adjusted basis, we grew tangible book value per share by 5.4 percent. We are beginning to see the effect of our efforts to profitably diversify our portfolio into new lines such as health and mortgage business.

“I am confident that our ability to find new, attractive businesses coupled with our excellent franchise, strong client relationships and superior balance sheet position us to compete effectively in an otherwise challenging operating environment.”

Book value per common share was $114.13 at the end of March, a record high for PartnerRe, up 4.5 percent compared to $109.26 at December 31, 2013.

Net premiums written of $1.7 billion were up six percent. The increase was driven by PartnerRe’s North America and Global Specialty Non-life sub-segments, and the Life and Health segment.

The company’s non-life combined ratio was 83.9 percent. The combined ratio benefited from favourable prior-year development of 16.6 points (or $164 million).

PartnerRe repurchased some 1.8 million common shares at a total cost of around $180 million during the first quarter of 2014. The average repurchase price of $99.76 per share represents an 8.7 percent discount to diluted book value per share at December 31, 2013, the company said. Already in the current quarter the company has repurchased another 450,000 shares at a total cost of approximately $46 million.

Around 2.7 million common shares remained under the current repurchase authorisation.

Total shareholders’ equity attributable to PartnerRe was $6.8 billion at March 31, 2014, up one percent compared to December 31, 2013.

PartnerRe’s board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of 67 cents per common share. The dividend will be payable on May 30, 2014 to common shareholders of record on May 19, 2014.