Everest Re Group Ltd’s posted net income of $1.2 billion as a lack of catastrophe claims helped to boost earnings.

The Bermuda reinsurer also saw premiums, operating earnings per share and book value per share rise by double-digit percentages in what chief executive officer Dominic Addesso described as a “stellar year”.

However net income fell from $1.3 billion in 2013.

For the fourth quarter, Everest reported net income of $340.1 million, down from $364.6 million in the corresponding period of 2013.

Operating earnings for the October through December period totalled $331.5 million, or $7.28 per diluted common share, up from $303.4 million in 2013, and well ahead of the $5.66 per share consensus forecast of analysts tracked by Yahoo Finance.

Mr Addesso said: “Everest has had another stellar year with 10 per cent growth in premium, 15 per cent growth in operating earnings per share, and 16 per cent growth in book value per share, adjusted for dividends.

“While it is a challenging marketplace, Everest continues to find and create opportunities for profitable growth due to our broadly diversified platform. Post January renewals, we remain confident in our ability to continue to generate strong returns for our shareholders.”

The fourth quarter included $15 million of catastrophe losses for the Brisbane, Australia hail storm that occurred in November.

For the full year, Everest said catastrophe losses, net of reinstatement premiums, totalled $56 million.

The combined ratio — the proportion of premium dollars spent on claims and expenses — was 80.5 per cent for the quarter and 82.8 per cent for the year, both slightly improved from last year.

Gross written premiums grew 10 per cent to $5.7 billion with worldwide reinsurance premiums, including the Mt Logan Re segment, up 15 per cent.

Net investment income amounted to $134 million for the quarter and $530.6 million for the full year.

Everest said it repurchased 3.2 million of its own shares for $500 million last year. During January, the company repurchased an additional 213,754 shares for a further $36 million, which will be reflected in first quarter 2015 reporting.

An authorisation to buy back another 6.1 million shares remains in place.

Shareholders’ equity ended the year at $7.5 billion, up 7 per cent from the $7 billion at December 31, 2013. Book value per share increased 14 per cent from $146.57 at year-end 2013 to $166.75 a year later.