Assured Guaranty reported a 26 per cent fall in third-quarter profit to $78 million, as lower earnings from its financial guaranty business outweighed growth in new business production.

The Bermudian-based company’s net income amounted to $1.75 per diluted share, compared with $105 million, or $2.18 per share, a year earlier.

Adjusted operating income, which excludes certain fair-value and other accounting adjustments, fell to $86 million, or $1.94 per share, from $124 million, or $2.57 per share.

Gross written premiums increased to $127 million from $75 million. The present value of new business production, a measure that includes estimated future instalment premiums, rose to $128 million from $91 million.

Dominic Frederico, Assured’s chief executive officer, said the firm generated $278 million of gross written premiums and $280 million of new business production during the first nine months.

“All three markets, US public finance, non-US public finance, and global structured finance, achieved significant year-over-year increases in both measures, with global structured finance doubling its GWP and PVP.”

Financial guaranty adjusted operating income declined to $115 million from $145 million. The segment recorded a $1 million loss expense, compared with a $31 million benefit a year earlier, when updates to expected mortgage-related recoveries boosted results.

Trading securities also produced a $2 million fair-value loss, against an $8 million gain in the corresponding quarter. Earnings from investees fell to $9 million from $16 million.

These declines were partly offset by net earned premiums and credit derivative revenues, which increased to $115 million from $99 million. Financial guaranty net investment income slipped to $93 million from $94 million.

US public finance gross written premiums rose to $87 million from $77 million, with infrastructure, transportation and municipal utility transactions contributing.

Outside the US, public finance premiums reached $21 million, supported by an infrastructure transaction in France and a regulated energy transaction in Spain. The prior-year figure was negative because of early repayments of several British credits.

Adjusted book value reached a record $192.60 per share.

The company returned $27 million to shareholders through $10 million of share repurchases and $17 million in dividends.

The company’s annuity reinsurance business, established through January’s acquisition of Warwick Re, since renamed Assured Life Reinsurance, contributed $1 million in adjusted operating income.

• This story was generated by machine and edited by The Royal Gazette newsroom