RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd posted second-quarter net income of nearly $192 million on the back of what the Bermudian firm’s CEO described as “our best portfolio of risk in years”.

The reinsurer handily beat Wall Street expectations with operating earnings of $5.23 per share, compared to the consensus forecast of $3.01 from analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research.

RenRe’s underwriting results benefited by $92 million from a decrease in the estimate of the net negative impact of major catastrophes that took place last year. These events included hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, as well as the Mexico City earthquake and wildfires in California.

The April-through-June quarter’s net income of $191.8 million, or $4.78 per share, compared to $171.1 million, or $4.24 per share, in the second quarter of 2017.

Kevin O’Donnell, RenRe’s chief executive officer, said: “We celebrated our 25th anniversary as a company this quarter, and I am proud to report very strong results.

“We recorded annualised operating return on average common equity of 20.3 per cent and growth in tangible book value per common share plus accumulated dividends of 4.9 per cent. I am especially pleased that we were also able to construct our best portfolio of risk in years.

“Moving forward, a combination of top-line growth, an effective gross-to-net strategy, rising interest rates and improved operational efficiency should provide the foundations for continued superior shareholder return.”

Gross premiums written climbed by $149.9 million, or 18.1 per cent, to $977.3 million during the second quarter, RenRe reported.

This was driven by an increase of $96.6 million in the Casualty and Specialty segment — much of this due to selective growth from new business opportunities resulting from the company’s differentiated strategy to provide bespoke customer solutions, which may be non-recurring, RenRe said. Gross premiums also rose $53.3 million in the Property segment.

The company’s total investment result, which includes realised and unrealised gains and losses, was a gain of $53.5 million in the second quarter, compared to a gain of $112.3 million in the second quarter of 2017.

RenRe added that in June it raised $250 million through the issuance of its 5.75 per cent Series F preference shares and that the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.