Executive Summary

Q4 2015 delivered strong underwriting and operating performance despite market headwinds: operating EPS $3.74, annualized operating ROE 11.9%, and a Non-life combined ratio of 86.5% .
Bottom-line was aided by $187.1M favorable prior-year reserve development in Non-life, partially offset by $24.4M net realized/unrealized investment losses; diluted EPS was $3.30 .
Management highlighted a resilient franchise and January treaty renewals with renewal premium volume down ~5% as anticipated; EXOR transaction expected to close in Q1 2016, providing a strategic catalyst .
Dividend maintained at $0.70 per share (payable Mar 1, 2016), reinforcing capital consistency amid competitive reinsurance markets .
Wall Street consensus (S&P Global) was unavailable for PRE-PJ; estimates comparison cannot be provided (SPGI mapping missing).

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well
- Strong underwriting: Non-life combined ratio of 86.5% with $187.1M favorable prior-year reserve development; all Non-life sub-segments except Cat experienced net favorable development in Q4 .
- Operating performance: Q4 operating EPS of $3.74 and annualized operating ROE of 11.9% underscored core strength despite investment headwinds .
- Strategic positioning and renewals: “Our excellent underwriting teams and resilient franchise made it possible to access and renew a high quality portfolio…renewal premium volume down just 5%…as planned” – President Emmanuel Clarke .
What Went Wrong
- Investment drag: Q4 pre-tax net realized/unrealized losses of $24M (after-tax $(22.8)M) from rate moves and spread dynamics weighed on reported results .
- Top-line pressure: Net premiums written down 13% and net premiums earned down 10% YoY (constant FX -8% and -5% respectively); Global Specialty drove declines .
- FX and transaction costs: Other expenses included $16M transaction-related costs; FX and prior deal-related items affected margins and tax rates (effective operating tax rate -6.6%) .

Financial Results

Core metrics vs prior quarters

Metric	Q2 2015	Q3 2015	Q4 2015
Total Revenues ($MM)	$1,192.5	$1,399.2	$1,379.6
Net Income to Common ($MM)	$(103.1)	$(243.3)	$162.3
Diluted EPS ($)	$(2.16)	$(5.08)	$3.30
Diluted Operating EPS ($)	$2.35	$4.42	$3.74
Non-life Combined Ratio (%)	90.3%	82.8%	86.5%
Net Investment Income ($MM)	$120.2	$117.1	$107.9
Favorable PY Reserve Dev – Non-life ($MM)	$173.4	$245.9	$187.1
Annualized Operating ROE (%)	7.5%	14.0%	11.9%

Capital and dividends

Metric	Q2 2015	Q3 2015	Q4 2015
Book Value/Share ($)	$127.24	$120.67	$123.05
Tangible Book Value/Share ($)	$115.90	$109.46	$111.93
Dividend/Share ($)	$0.70	$0.70	$0.70

Segment breakdown (Net premiums earned and technical ratios)

Segment Metric	Q2 2015	Q3 2015	Q4 2015
NPE – North America ($MM)	$435	$408	$390
Technical Ratio – North America (%)	93.5%	78.1%	85.6%
NPE – Global (Non-U.S.) P&C ($MM)	$159	$186	$174
Technical Ratio – Global (Non-U.S.) P&C (%)	99.1%	92.7%	92.5%
NPE – Global Specialty ($MM)	$374	$404	$368
Technical Ratio – Global Specialty (%)	80.2%	83.2%	79.5%
NPE – Catastrophe ($MM)	$44	$112	$70
Technical Ratio – Catastrophe (%)	(13.3)%	33.6%	33.1%

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Dividend per common share	Q1 2016 payable	$0.70 (maintained)	$0.70 declared, payable Mar 1, 2016	Maintained
Non-life treaty renewal premium volume	Jan 2016 renewals	Not previously quantified	Down ~5% vs prior year, planned	Planned decline
EXOR transaction closing timeline	Q1 2016	Pending	“Expect to occur in the first quarter of 2016”	Update reaffirmed

Note: Revenue/margin guidance not provided in press materials; company does not issue formal quarterly revenue/EPS guidance .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Transcript for Q4 2015 was not found in the document catalog; we searched for “earnings-call-transcript” for PRE-PJ in Feb 2016 and found none. Themes below are derived from press releases across quarters.

Topic	Q2 2015 (Prev-2)	Q3 2015 (Prev-1)	Q4 2015 (Current)	Trend
Market pricing/competition	“Persistent competitive reinsurance pressures… signs markets beginning to stabilize” – Interim CEO Zwiener	“Markets remain competitive across the board” – President Clarke	“Resilient franchise… renewal volume down 5% as anticipated” – President Clarke	Stable but competitive; disciplined renewals
Prior-year reserve releases	Strong favorable development across Non-life segments	Continued broad favorable development (22.2 pts)	$187M favorable PY development; most sub-segments favorable	Sustained reserve releases
Investment environment	Longer-term rate increases drove mark-to-market losses	Widening credit spreads, equity declines drove losses	Rate increases and spread moves drove losses	Persistent investment headwinds
Capital management/dividend	Declared $0.70 dividend	Declared $0.70 dividend	Declared $0.70 dividend (payable Mar 1)	Consistent payout
M&A/ownership	AXIS process/earn-out costs; EXOR proposed combination	AXIS termination fee; EXOR transaction in process	Transition to private ownership under EXOR expected Q1 2016	Ownership transition nearing completion

Management Commentary

“I am very pleased with the strong financial results we achieved in 2015… our operating units performed well, resulting in a full-year operating return on equity of 10.7%.” – President Emmanuel Clarke .
“Our excellent underwriting teams and resilient franchise… renewal premium volume down just 5%… as anticipated and planned for in this increasingly competitive market.” – President Emmanuel Clarke .
“Despite the noise… our underlying results remain strong… operating ROE of 14%.” – Interim CEO David Zwiener (Q3) .
“We continued to see challenging market conditions… nevertheless, we posted strong technical results… operating ROE of 8.5%.” – Interim CEO David Zwiener (Q2) .

Q&A Highlights

Q4 2015 earnings call transcript was not available in our catalog (no “earnings-call-transcript” found for PRE-PJ during Feb 2016). We cannot provide Q&A themes or clarifications beyond press release content. We searched for “earnings-call-transcript” for PRE-PJ between 2016-02-01 and 2016-02-29 and found none.

Estimates Context

Wall Street consensus via S&P Global (SPGI/CIQ) could not be retrieved due to missing mapping for ticker PRE-PJ; therefore estimates comparisons versus consensus are unavailable. We attempted to fetch “Primary EPS Consensus Mean” and “Revenue Consensus Mean” for Q2–Q4 2015, but the CIQ mapping was not present for PRE-PJ (SPGI tool error). Values from S&P Global are unavailable, so we cannot assess beats/misses for EPS or revenue this quarter.

Key Takeaways for Investors

Underwriting quality remains the core driver: combined ratio of 86.5% with broad favorable reserve releases indicates strong risk selection and reserve adequacy .
Investment headwinds are the main variable: modest negative marks continued in Q4; sensitivity to rates and spreads suggests near-term earnings volatility if markets remain unsettled .
Renewal discipline preserved premium quality with planned volume reduction (~5%); expect continued focus on profitability over growth through 2016 renewals .
Capital consistency and shareholder returns are intact amid ownership transition; $0.70 dividend maintained and book value per share increased sequentially vs Q3 .
EXOR closing in Q1 2016 could shift strategic priorities (private ownership), potentially enabling long-term investments and underwriting positioning through cycles .
Segment mix: Specialty and North America remain key profit pools; Catastrophe technical ratio stayed low in Q4, reflecting portfolio actions .
Without consensus data, trading implications hinge on internal quality metrics (combined ratio, reserve releases) and macro beta to rates/credit; watch investment portfolio marks and January renewal commentary .

PARTNERRE LTD (PRE-PJ)·Q4 2015 Earnings Summary