Maiden Holdings Ltd has reported a first-quarter profit of $38.5 million, up from the $2 million it made in the same period a year ago.

The 2014 net income was impacted by a non-recurring, non-cash charge of $28.2 million associated with the company’s 14 per cent coupon junior subordinated debt.

In the first three months of this year, the Bermuda-based insurer had net operating earnings of $26.6 million, or $0.35 per diluted common share, compared with $25.6 million in 2014.

“During the first quarter of 2015, while market conditions remain competitive, we continue to see opportunities to expand relationships with current clients and to selectively establish new client relationships,” said chief executive officer Art Raschbaum.

“Despite the impact of a stronger dollar and a challenging low interest rate environment, we continued to enjoy a significant expansion in investable assets in the quarter.

“Although quarterly investment income reflects some of the challenges of putting that cash to work, as we move to fully invest record levels of cash, we expect a continued improvement in operating earnings.”

Net income attributable to Maiden common shareholders was $32.4 million, or $0.41 per common share, compared to a loss of $4.1 million, or $0.06 per common share a year ago.

The combined ratio was 98.2 per cent, compared with 97.7 per cent a year ago, while the book value per common share increased 3.3 percent since the beginning of this year to $13.11.

In the first three months of the year the company achieved gross written premiums of $834.3 million, an increase of 15.5 per cent year-on-year. Maiden noted that within its diversified reinsurance segment, US growth was largely offset by the impact of foreign exchange and lower premiums from the international portfolio.

Maiden’s total assets increased by 6.6 per cent to $5.5 billion.

During the first quarter the board of directors declared dividends of $0.13 per common share, $0.51 per Series A preference share, and $0.90 per Series B preference share.