Bermudian reinsurer Everest Re Group Ltd’s first-quarter net income fell by nearly half to $171.7 million as investment losses took their toll.

Operating earnings of $5.19 per share fell short of the $5.57 consensus forecast of analysts tracked by Yahoo Finance.

Everest said gross written premiums fell 5 per cent in the quarter to $1.4 billion. Reinsurance premiums were down 8 per cent, while insurance premiums were up 11 per cent.

Everest’s combined ratio — the proportion of premium dollars spent on claims and expenses — was 86 per cent for the quarter compared to 83.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2015.

Net investment income fell by $20 million to $102.5 million, as the company was hit by a $6.2 million loss on limited partnership investments.

Net after-tax realised capital losses totalled $51 million.

Dominic Addesso, Everest’s chief executive officer, said: “Against the backdrop of what continues to be significant challenges affecting both investment and underwriting activities, Everest produced strong results with an annualised operating return on equity of 12 per cent for the quarter.

“While foreign currency headwinds and declining rates are hampering growth in our reinsurance book, we are seeing strong and profitable growth in our insurance book as new initiatives take hold.”

During the quarter, Everest repurchased 464,360 of its common shares at an average price of $185 and a total cost of $85.9 million. The company can buy back 3.6 million more of its own shares under its existing share repurchase authorisation.

Shareholders’ equity ended the quarter at $7.8 billion, up 3 per cent from the end of 2015. Book value per share increased 4 per cent to $184.91 at March 31, 2016.

Everest shares rose 6 cents to close regular trading at $193.43 yesterday, before the company announced its results.