Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd. last night reported profits were slightly up on last year by five percent at $109 million for the first quarter of 2004 after a ?successful? January renewal season.

Last year net income stood at $103.8 million through to March 31, but this included Lloyd?s business which has been dropped by the company.

Anthony Taylor, chairman, president and chief executive officer, said: ?Montpelier had a successful January renewal season. The range and quality of business we have seen continues to improve as the reputation of our underwriting and risk management skills develops, leading to further growth in our core lines of business.?

He went on to say that offset against these improvements was a small overall decline in rates on renewed business, and Montpelier?s disciplined approach to programme selection resulted in a rise in the number of risks the company have turned down.

?We will continue to put underwriting discipline first and foremost, as we believe it is the most important element in producing superior long-term results for owners,? said Mr. Taylor, whose company is based on Par-La-Ville Road.

?Our April renewal season saw a continued healthy showing of business. Overall in the lines of business we write, at the layers we tend to participate in, rates remain favourable.?

But he said that notwithstanding modest reductions in certain classes, based on the company?s current expectations on prices and terms, they remained confident that the company would experience an increase in gross written premium in 2004 over 2003 despite the planned non-renewal of the Lloyd?s QQS business.

Tom Kemp, chief financial officer, said: ?Our results in the first quarter of 2004 continue the pattern of outstanding returns in 2002 and 2003.

?Our combined ratio was 50.1 percent in the quarter, compared to 52.8 percent in the first quarter in 2003.?

Mr. Kemp said that continuing lines of business experienced premium growth of 14.4 percent and the company?s net earned premium was $190.8 million in the first quarter of 2004, compared to $184.7 million for the same period in 2003.

Gross written premium was $333.2 million in the quarter, down from $366.6 million in the first quarter of 2003 which largely reflected the non-renewal of the Lloyd?s QQS programmes in 2004.

?Should results continue to be strong, we will manage our capital with a view to meeting our target rate of return to shareholders over the cycle,? said Mr. Kemp.