Natural catastrophe losses of $1.48 billion took a toll on XL Group’s third quarter performance, with the company reporting an operating net loss of $1.03 billion.

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria accounted for the bulk of the catastrophe losses. XL’s operating net loss was $4 per share, compared to a profit of 44 cents per share in the same quarter last year. A Wall Street consensus had forecast a loss of $3.84 per share for the company in the quarter.

XL’s property and casualty combined ratio — the portion of premium dollars spent on claims and expenses — was 146.9 per cent compared to 93.1 per cent a year ago.

“The natural catastrophes that mark the third quarter bring a unique devastation to those impacted and we continue the important work of helping our clients rebuild in these times of need,” said Mike McGavick, XL’s chief executive officer.

“The financial impact of these events was, of course, significant to our financial results in the quarter. At the same time, excluding these events, our underlying results show continued progress as demonstrated by improvement in the ex-cat P&C combined ratio, insurance combined ratio and insurance loss ratio versus the prior year quarter.

“As we look at the global re/insurance markets today, with a view that we will see new levels of appropriate sustainable pricing, we believe we are well positioned by virtue of our diverse portfolio, global relevance and disciplined underwriting.”

Annualised operating return on average common shareholders’ equity on a year-to-date basis, excluding unrealised gains and losses on investments, was 8.9 per cent, compared to 4.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2016.

XL said it spent $120.9 million buying back approximately 2.7 million shares during the quarter. As of the end of September, $529.1 million of common shares remained available for purchase under XL’s buyback programme.