Swiss reinsurance specialist Converium has reported a net income of $46 million for the second quarter of 2007, down from $62.5 million in Q2 2006, RTT News has revealed. However, for H1 2007, net income hit $197 million, up 58% over H1 2006.

<p>The company stated that the successful results for the first half of the year were attributable to the release of the tax valuation allowance of $75 million, while second quarter results were impacted upon by lower written net premiums and net earned premiums, RTT News reported. <br /><br />Converium added that results were also driven by a robust underlying underwriting performance, which helped to absorb the expenses relating to the Scor transaction of $24 million. <br /><br />The group also revealed that gross premiums written in the second quarter of 2007 reached $490 million, up 5% compared to Q2 2006, while non-life combined ratio for the three-month period was 96.6%, compared with 98.8% for the same period of 2006. <br /><br />Commenting on the results, Inga Beale, the firm&#0039;s CEO, said: In the first half year 2007 Converium has continued to perform strongly. Adjusting for the one-off release of the tax valuation allowance, we have achieved a return on equity of over 13%. The extremely satisfying July renewals results and the most recent set of figures testify to the strength and solidity of the company that is now part of the Scor Group.</p>