Qatar Re grew its reinsurance premiums to $654 million in the second quarter to account for 43 per cent of all premium income of its parent Qatar Insurance Company.

The Bermudian-based reinsurer achieved a 41 per cent increase in premiums.

Meanwhile, the QIC group’s gross premiums written soared by 44 per cent to $1.5 billion. Profit was up $6 million to $169 million for the quarter.

“In the second quarter of 2016 we further progressed in our transformation into a globally diversified composite insurer and reinsurer,” said Khalifa Al Subaey, group chief executive officer.

“Capitalising on our strong technical capabilities and robust operating platform, we managed to defend the group’s bottom line against the many pressures from volatile financial markets and fiercely competitive insurance and reinsurance marketplaces.”

The group’s non-life combined ratio was 96.9 per cent, compared with 93.6 per cent during the same quarter in 2015.

In a statement, the company said the ratio was “a strong result given the fact that the second quarter was characterised by a series of headline losses across the globe. According to Morgan Stanley total insured losses in the second quarter of 2016 were more than 50 per cent higher than the ten-year historical catastrophe loss average”.

The company also noted headwinds caused by oil prices remaining below near-term break-even levels, and a mixed picture of recovery for US and European economies, combined with doubts about the prospects for the Chinese economy and shock waves from Britain’s vote to leave the EU.

QIC is headquartered in Doha in the United Arab Emirates. Its Lloyd’s insurance platform Antares recorded growth of 16 per cent to $233 million, which was 15 per cent of group’s total business.

The group’s return on investment dropped from 9.4 per cent to 7.2 per cent.

During the second quarter QIC completed a rights issue, with shareholders’ equity rising to $2.2 billion.

Commenting on near-term prospects, Mr Al Subaey said: “The global and regional business environment is set to remain demanding for the foreseeable future. However, our outlook continues to be cautiously optimistic.

“Thanks to our innovative skills in personal lines and acknowledged strengths in global reinsurance and specialty insurance we are confident in our ability to continue expanding the Group’s footprint whilst maintaining a clear focus on the bottom line.”