Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. reported record net income of $73.1 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2005, driven primarily by growth in the company?s underlying business and growing investment income as well as a lower than expected level of catastrophe losses in the quarter and favourable loss development on business written in prior years

Steven H. Newman, chairman of the board, said: ?Strong underwriting earnings were generated by the disciplined underwriting standards we have applied to all our business since our inception.?

Gregory Morrison, chief executive officer, said that first quarter results were ?excellent?.

?Earnings were strong and a successful January 1 renewal season led to premium growth. Our combined ratio benefited from good claims experience this quarter and continued profit emergence from business written in the past,? he said.

Last month A.M. Best placed the company?s financial strength rating of A under review. Yesterday, during the company?s earnings call with analysts Mr. Morrison said that the company has now submitted a plan to A.M. Best to affirm its financial strength rating of A with a stable outlook.

?This plans reflects our strong first quarter earnings rebalancing our catastrophe exposures through our international retrocession program and certain financing activities subject to market condition.

?We intend to complete the remaining parts of our plan in the near term,? he said.

Chief underwriting officer Michael Price also spoke to the company?s finite segment which consists of 14 programmes in force with nearly 85 percent of the premium comprised of four capped quota share contracts.

?As property finite business has come up for renewal we have generally favoured offering traditional renewal terms as we expect better returns on our catastrophe capacity on this basis.

?No new finite contracts have been written since January 1,? he said.

He also addressed Platinum?s relation to Inter-Ocean, a Bermuda based finite risk reinsurer which ceased underwriting and is now in voluntary run-off.

?Regarding Inter-Ocean we have not sponsored any transaction written by that company.

?We have not purchased any retrocession from them and we have not written any retrocession to them.

?To provide an additional level of comfort we asked the law firm Dooey Valentine to review our finite activities.

?I?m pleased to report their findings are favourable and they have identified no items of concern,? he said.

Based on the results of the quarter ended March 31, 2005, in the absence of any unusual catastrophe activity and including an estimate of the cost of completing the plan to have Platinum?s financial strength rating of A (Excellent) affirmed by A.M. Best, Platinum estimates that for 2005 its net premiums written and net premiums earned will be approximately $1.6 billion and its GAAP combined ratio will be approximately 92%. Platinum will not provide guidance on its invested assets pending completion of the plan to affirm its A.M. Best rating, and the previously issued guidance with respect to invested assets is withdrawn.

Platinum now projects that earnings for 2005 will exceed $4.00 per diluted common share based on estimated weighted average diluted shares outstanding of 47 million.

This estimate reflects the issuance of common shares pursuant to the equity security units in the fourth quarter.