Aspen Insurance Holdings made a loss of $14.7 million in the second quarter, representing a loss of 38 cents per common share. That compared with net income of $75.8 million for the same period in 2017.

The Bermudian-based company had operating income after tax of $56.3 million, or eight cents per share.

Aspen has been the subject of takeover speculation this year, but has stated it does not comment on rumours.

Regarding its results, Chris O’Kane, chief executive officer, said they “demonstrate ongoing execution of our plan to enhance performance”.

He added: “This included the continued successful repositioning of Aspen Insurance, which had its second consecutive record quarter in terms of gross written premium, another quarter of solid results and pricing discipline at Aspen Re and significant progress in the implementation of our operational effectiveness and efficiency programme. In addition, we reduced debt leverage through the partial redemption of our senior notes.”

Gross premiums written were up 3.9 per cent year-on-year at $853.8 million, led by an 8.5 per cent jump in the insurance segment. However, net written premiums decreased 16 per cent as Aspen continued to make increased use of ceded reinsurance.

The accident year net loss, excluding catastrophes, was 64.4 per cent for the quarter, compared to 63.6 per cent for the same period in 2017. The loss ratio was 59.7 per cent, compared with 61.6 per cent for the same three months last year.

Book value of Aspen’s common shares at the end of June was $38.21, down 4.7 per cent since the start of the year.