Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd comfortably beat analysts’ expectations as they eked out a $2 million profit for the fourth quarter of last year.Superstorm Sandy, which cost Aspen net catastrophe losses of $175 million, delivered a powerful hit to earnings in the last three months of the year.However, the net operating loss of 15 cents per share was far narrower than the $1.22 loss expected on average by analysts tracked by Yahoo Finance.For the full year, Aspen reported net income after tax of $280.4 million, or $3.38 per diluted share.“In 2012, despite the impact of Superstorm Sandy, we made strong progress against our strategic objectives and generated an operating return on equity of 8.5 percent,” said chief executive officer Chris O’Kane.In its guidance, Aspen stated: “Assuming a pre-tax catastrophe load of $190 million per annum, normal loss experience and given the current interest rate and pricing environment, we expect to achieve an operating return on equity of 10 percent in 2014.”Diluted book value per share was $40.65, up 6.4 percent from a year earlier.Mr O’Kane added: “In 2013, we will be intensely focused on further improving return on equity, against a backdrop of modestly improving insurance pricing, lacklustre global economies, and a continued low interest rate environment.“We will allocate capital efficiently to profitable underwriting opportunities, scale back in certain lines whose performance has not been consistent with our targeted risk profile, and return excess capital to shareholders through our expanded share repurchase authorisation.“We will also strive to generate increased returns from our investment portfolio while ensuring that our investments remain within our risk tolerance.”A 40.2 percent increase in the amount of business written by Aspen’s insurance segment helped the company to achieve a 25.6 percent increase in gross written premiums, which totalled $576.2 million in the fourth quarter.The combined ratio of 108 percent (or 72 percent excluding catastrophes) compared with a combined ratio of 114.3 percent (or 85.9 percent excluding catastrophes) in the same period of 2011.Aspen’s board of directors replaced its existing share repurchase authorisation with a new authorisation of $500 million. During the fourth quarter of 2012, Aspen repurchased 308,674 ordinary shares in the open market at an average price of $31.85 per share for a total cost of $9.8 million.Mr O’Kane also noted: “In 2012 Aspen celebrated its 10-year anniversary. Our success reflects the support of our clients, with whom we have built strong relationships, the hard work and skill of all our people, and the diversified reinsurance and insurance platform that we have built together.”