Allied World Assurance yesterday reported net income of $153.4 million for the second quarter of the year — up nearly $144 million on the same period in 2015.

The figure is equivalent to $1.70 per share, compared to ten cents per share for the sane period of last year.

Scott Carmilani, president and chief executive officer of the Swiss-based firm, which maintains a Bermuda arm, said: “I am very pleased with our results this quarter, which were attributable to strong performance across both the underwriting and investment portfolios.

“In particular, with a combined ratio of 92.3 per cent, our North American insurance business is showing the strength and results of our focused build-out.”

Gross premiums written for the quarter amounted to $800.3 million, a 3.1 per cent decrease, compared with $825 million in the second quarter of 2015 as all three segments — North American insurance, global markets insurance and reinsurance — declined.

Allied World showed $20.9 million in catastrophe losses for the quarter, compared with $25 million in the same quarter in 2015.

An April hailstorm in Texas cost $6 million on the reinsurance side, while the Fort McMurray wildfires in Alberta amounted to losses of $10.3 million.

In the North American insurance segment, losses of $4.5 million came from the Texas hailstorm.