Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc.’s 2018 net income has rebounded in a big way over the previous year, thanks in part to fewer natural catastrophes and the sale of a division.

Net income for Q2 and the first six months of 2018 reached $981 million and $1.6 billion, respectively, versus $126 million and $477 million, respectively in Q2 and H1 2017.

Liberty Mutual Chairman and CEO David Long attributed the gains, in part, to improvements in core underwriting results, investments and an after-tax gain of $464 million connected to the sale of Liberty Life Assurance of Boston.

As well, the combined ratio landed at 97.9, a nearly 5-point improvement from the same period in 2017 as global catastrophes returned back to more normal historical levels.

Here are some result highlights:

• Net written premium in Q2 was $10 billion, 7.3 percent, or $685 million higher than the same period in 2017.

• Ironshore acquisition costs for the second quarter were $10 million, $16 million less than in the 2017 second quarter.

• Restructuring cost $28 million in Q2, an expense that did not exist in the 2017 second quarter. For the first six months of 2018 the number was at $31 million.

• For the first six months of 2018, net written premium is at $19.5 billion, nearly 9 percent or $1.4 billion higher than the figure for H1 2017.

• Liberty Mutual’s total debt was $8.27 billion as of June 30, 2018, down $54 million from Dec. 31, 2017. Equity surpassed $20.8 billion in H1 2018, up $192 million from the end of 2017.

Source: Liberty Mutual