Bermuda-based global reinsurer PartnerRe Ltd saw its income for the first quarter of 2005 fall 23 percent, due largely to loss activity from the European storm Erwin and an energy loss in Canada.

Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2005 was $111.4 million, or $1.84 per share compared with $145.6 million, or $2.59 cents a share, a year ago.

Operating earnings for the first quarter of 2005 were $67.6 million or $1.21 per share, down 38 percent from $109.7 million, or $2.02 per share, for the first quarter of 2004.

PartnerRe president & chief executive officer Patrick Thiele said, "Our results this quarter reflect a high level of large loss activity. The single largest loss was Winterstorm Erwin at $63 million, which hit Northern Europe in early January; our results were also impacted by a $20 million energy loss in Canada. Our experience is within the volatility pattern we expect in a year. "Our GAAP book value per share was negatively impacted by rising interest rates as we mark our assets to market, but not our liabilities," Mr. Thiele added. "Nevertheless, we continue to build economic shareholder value."

The company's ART (Alternative Risk Transfer) segment comprises structured risk transfer, structured finance, weather related products, and the results of the Company's investment in Channel Re. The pre-tax contribution to net income, including the Company's interest in the earnings of Channel Re, was a gain of $13 million for the first quarter of 2005, compared to a gain of $1 million in the first quarter of 2004.

As previously reported, Mr. Thiele said in the company's earning statement last night that the January 2005 renewal was mixed in terms of both pricing and profitability. Mr. Thiele said: "The decline in premiums written in the first quarter reflects an increasingly competitive marketplace and primary carriers retaining more business. In the April 1 renewal, we saw a continuation of a weakening marketplace, but again at a gradual pace.

"Notwithstanding the normal volatility that we expect as a result of large losses, PartnerRe remains well-placed to succeed in this more difficult market, and we are committed to continuing to build shareholder value throughout the remainder of 2005 and over the long term."