Swiss Re Profit Down After Cyclone Debbie Claims

Swiss Re AG (SREN.EB) said Thursday that its net profit weakened last quarter from a year earlier, as the company cited insurance payments related to Cyclone Debbie in Australia and "pressures from a challenging business environment."

The Zurich-based reinsurance giant said net profit in the fourth quarter fell to $656 million from $1.23 billion in the same period a year earlier. The figure was in line with consensus forecasts of $652 million, according to Baader Helvea Equity Research.

Gross premiums fell to $10.2 billion last quarter from $11.4 billion in the first quarter of 2016.

The company said it expects insurance claims related to Cyclone Debbie to amount to around $350 million.

-Write to Brian Blackstone at brian.blackstone@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 04, 2017 03:39 ET (07:39 GMT)