Reinsurance giant Swiss Re reported Thursday a sharp jump in net profit for the first half of the year despite the costly wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles.

The group, which serves as an insurer of insurance companies, said its profit after tax reached $2.6 billion in the first six months of 2025, up 24 percent from the same period last year.

Claims from natural disasters totalled $556 million, mainly in connection with the Los Angeles blazes in January, Swiss Re said in an earnings statement.

But claims for large natural catastrophes fell in the second quarter, the company said.

Swiss Re said last week that the Los Angeles fires constituted the largest-ever insured wildfire loss event by far for the entire insurance industry, reaching an estimated $40 billion.

"We've benefited from the relatively quiet second quarter with respect to large losses after a tough start to the year," chief executive Andreas Berger said in a conference call on Thusday.

The Swiss company's rivals Munich Re and Hannover Re have also reported improvements in the amount of claims in the second quarter.

Swiss Re said it was maintaining its earnings target for the full year, with a net profit of $4.4 billion.

"Given the broad geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, and as we enter the peak of the wind season, we remain vigilant," Berger warned in the earnings statement.

noo/lth/db

SWISS RE AG

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