Travelers Cos. Inc. shares rose 1.1% premarket Tuesday, after the insurer posted better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, as lower catastrophe losses and a positive underwriting result offset lower investment income. The New York-based company posted net income of $1.018 billion, or $4.15 a share, for the quarter, up from $733 million, or $2.87 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $4.22, comfortably ahead of the $3.61 FactSet consensus. Revenue rose 6% to $8.809 billion from $8.313 billion a year ago, also ahead of the $8.029 billion FactSet consensus. The company’s net written premiums rose 11% to $8.367 billion, and net earned premiums rose 9% to $8.0 billion. Net investment income came to $637 million, down from $701 million a year ago. Net realized investment losses came to $23 million pretax, compared with gains of $44 million pretax a year ago. The company’s underwriting gain came to $659 million, up from $217 million a year ago. The company’ combined ratio came to 91.3%. Shares have gained 20% in the last 12 months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 0.6%. and the S&P 500 has gained 5%.
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