Travelers Companies Inc. TRV reported Tuesday fourth-quarter profit that fell from a year ago due primarily to higher catastrophe losses, but matched expectations, while revenue topped forecasts. The insurer’s tock slipped 0.2% in premarket trading. Net income declined to $819 million, or $3.44 a share, from $1.33 billion, or $5.37 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, core earnings per share were $3.40, while the FactSet consensus was also $3.40. Revenue grew 6.9% to $9.64 billion, well above the FactSet consensus of $8.77 billion, as net written premiums rose 10.4%. Combined ratio increased 6.5 percentage points to 94.5%, above expectations of 93.7%, as higher catastrophe losses added 4.7 percentage points and a higher underlying combined ratio added 2.7 percentage points. Travelers’ stock has gained 3.7% over the past three months through Monday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA has advanced 6.8%.
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