Conduit Re, the Bermudian-based pure-play reinsurer, has recorded its first profit.

Part of the “Class of 2020” group of companies that set up in Bermuda to capitalise on rising rates, Conduit Re recorded comprehensive income of $78.6 million in the first half of the year.

That compares with a comprehensive loss of $39.4 million in the first half of 2022.

Return on equity was 9.1 per cent.

Conduit Re was founded in 2020, and its entire team is based in Bermuda.

Announcing the interim results, parent company Conduit Holdings said its subsidiary recorded strong year-on-year growth in gross premiums written, which were up 52.9 per cent to $542.2 million for the six-month period.

Estimated ultimate premiums written were $762.2 million, up 54.9 per cent year-on-year.

Conduit Re recorded a combined ratio of 72.5 per cent for the first half of the year compared with 99.9 per cent for the same period in 2022.

Total net investment return was $22.6 million, which includes a net unrealised gain of $5.7 million, compared with a net investment loss of $50 million, which included $54.3 million of net unrealised loss in the same period in 2022.

In an active natural catastrophe period for the industry, Conduit Re said, no major event loss, individually or in aggregate, had an outsize or material impact on its results for the period.

During the first half of the year, Conduit said, it sponsored the issuance of its first $100 million three-year catastrophe bond. The resulting collateralised reinsurance cover complements the company’s traditional retrocession programme, it said.

Trevor Carvey, the chief executive, said: “This has been a very successful half year for Conduit, and we are delivering on the goals we set out when we founded the business in 2020.

“In a half year which has seen high industry losses, our focused underwriting strategy has delivered strong underwriting results which, coupled with our low expense base, have delivered a very attractive combined ratio of 72.5 (83.1 per cent on undiscounted basis).

“With no back years prior to 2021, we continue to look forward to deploying capital effectively, taking maximum advantage of market conditions, which we see continuing for some time.”

Neil Eckert, the executive chairman, added: “We are delighted to announce our maiden interim profit. The low combined ratio and highly attractive return on equity are testament to the effectiveness of our strategy.

“This is one of the hardest insurance markets in a generation, and we are very well placed to capitalise on that with our efficient business model.”