Swiss Re capital recovery not just “luck”

Shares in Swiss Re, the world’s second-largest reinsurer, were boosted today after it reported forecast-beating profits for the third quarter and strengthened its capital base, improving its chances of repaying Warren Buffett’s costly capital injection.

The Zurich-based reinsurer posted a profit of SFr334m ($327m) for the quarter – compared with a loss of SFr304m in 2008 – beating an average estimate of a SFr115m profit in a Reuters poll.

The group’s strong operating performance, combined with sales of once illiquid assets in its legacy portfolio, helped shareholders’ equity rise by SFr2.4bn to SFr26.2bn, beating Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW)'s estimate.

“We expect the market to react positively to Swiss Re’s third-quarter 2009 results given that the share price has underperformed into the disclosure and the shareholders’ funds have...