Hurricanes hinder Partner Re’s Q3 results

A tumultuous hurricane season has partially contributed to PartnerRe Ltd.’s (NYSE: PRE) net loss of $288.7 million, or $5.48 per share, for the third quarter of 2005, compared with a profit of $83.2 million for the same period in 2004.The Company’s net loss, which includes net after-tax realized gains on investments of $47.8 million or $0.88 per share, is largely a result of the impact of Hurricane Katrina and other catastrophe loses during the Q3 of 2005. “The third quarter was unprecedented in terms of natural disasters, with HurricaneKatrina the largest insured event in history,” Patrick Thiele, PartnerRe’s president and ceo, says. “In addition, there were two other significant Atlantic hurricanes, three Asian typhoons, six airlineaccidents, and devastating floods in India and Central Europe. These events have led to the largest quarterly loss load experienced by our Company in its 12-year history.”The operating loss for Q3 2005 was $345.2 million or $6.36 per share compared to operating earnings of $57.3 million, or $1.07 per share on a fully diluted basis, for the Q3 2004. Partner Re reported a loss of $17.4 million for the combined first three quarter’s of 2005 compared to a net income of $348.7 million for the same period last year. The companies net premiums declined 6.9% to $2.95 billion.