Newly public financial guaranty reinsurer Ram Re Holdings Ltd. on Tuesday said its first quarter profit was marginally higher year on year despite costs associated with its April 27 public listing topping $1 million.

The Bermuda-based company?s net income reached $6.6 million, or 25 cents a share, a 4.8 percent gain on the $6.3 million, or 24 cents a share, in profit the company realised in the first quarter of 2005.

?Overall financial results generally met with our expectations as net income improved even with the inclusion of approximately $1.3 million in additional first quarter expenses associated with our IPO,? said chief executive Vern Endo, in a statement issued after market close on Tuesday.

The reinsurer?s listing on the Nasdaq last month marked the end of a more than two year hiatus in IPOs by Bermuda insurers.

So far investors have been cool in their response to Ram?s launch. The reinsurer?s shares yesterday closed seven cents below the $13.35 price the stock first rose to on April 27, its inaugural trading day.

And the shares have so far not reached the $14 to $16 range initially expected in the IPO.

Ram?s shares were down ten cents, at $13.28 in 4 p.m. Nasdaq composite trading yesterday.

More than 700,000 shares changed hands while the shares traded as low as $13.17 and as high as $13.50, as investors digested the company?s first earnings report.

Income before realised gains or losses, referred to as operating profit and the measure most often referred to by insurers, stood at $6.8 million, up from $6.3 million a year ago.

On a per share basis, operating income measured 26 cents compared to 24 cents in the first quarter of 2005. While Ram Re posted higher earnings in the quarter, its business volumes were lower. On a gross basis, the company sold $14.6 million in policies compared to $15.2 million during the same period a year earlier. The company said it expects its business over the year to exceed 2005 volumes.

Helping to give the company?s profit a boost this quarter was the fact that Ram earned more on premium sales during the period over a year ago.

Total first quarter earned premiums reached $10.7 million, a 19 percent jump on the $9 million earned during the first quarter last year.

Reinsurers generally earn premiums over the period of the insurance contract.

Ram?s net investment income was also a solid contributor to its earnings. Insurers count on investment income to supplement underwriting earnings.

The company said it made $5.4 million on investments in the quarter, 28.6 percent more than the $4.2 million in net investment income recorded in the same period a year ago.

Ram said the growth could be attributed to a larger investment portfolio. Total shareholders? equity stood at $321.4 million, a $1.3 million decline from the end of the year, attributed to a change in unrealised losses in its investment portfolio. The company?s capital base wasn?t able to draw much of a boost from the funds generated in the IPO, with the bulk of the proceeds going to institutional shareholders reducing their stake in the company.

Ram, as a financial guaranty reinsurer, sells reinsurance to insurers selling policies to cover securities such as municipal bonds and asset securitisations.

Financial guaranty insurance protects against non-payment of principle and interest on these kinds of instruments.

The company formed as a privately-held reinsurer in 1998.