Investing.com - Chubb (NYSE:CB) on Tuesday reported first-quarter earnings that beat analysts' forecasts and revenue that topped expectations as higher premiums bolstered performance.
Chubb announced earnings per share of $2.68 on revenue of $7.98 billion. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of $2.57 on revenue of $7.33 billion. That compared with an EPS of $2.54 on revenue of $7.31 billion in the same period a year before. Chubb had reported EPS of $2.28 on revenue of $8 billion in the previous quarter. Analysts are expecting EPS of $2.63 and revenue of $8.35 billion in the upcoming quarter.
Net premiums written rose 9.1% on-year during the quarter.
Chubb shares are down 27% from the beginning of the year , still down 32.88% from its 52 week high of $167.74 set on February 6. They are under-performing the S&P 500 which is down 15.64% year to date.
Looking ahead, the company flagged an impact to the growth of its premium from the coronavirus pandemic.
"The coronavirus is delivering a severe blow to the global economy. How long and how deep is unknown. It will have a major impact on the global insurance industry in terms of both losses and revenue. For Chubb, we expect our premium growth momentum to be impacted for a period as insurance exposures in important areas shrink," Chubb said. "This will be an earnings event for our company; our balance sheet and liquidity remain strong. "Insurance has an important role to play in society and in the economy, and at Chubb we are doing our job to support our customers, employees and business partners, all of whom rely on us. We are operating day to day at a very high level globally and I am confident Chubb will weather this difficult time and emerge stronger."
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