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Empresas y finanzas

Hurricanes take toll on Travelers' earnings


    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Property insurer Travelers Cos Inc posted lower-than-expected quarterly earnings on Wednesday after a large rise in catastrophe claims due to hurricanes Ike, Gustav and Dolly.

    Net income plummeted to $214 million, or 36 cents per share, from $1.2 billion, or $1.81 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

    Travelers reported operating income of 55 cents a share, missing analysts' average forecast of 58 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

    Catastrophe losses reached $682 million after taxes, compared with $9 million in the same quarter last year, and were almost entirely due to the three hurricanes, the company said.

    Travelers said it was cutting its operating income forecast for the full year to a range of $4.90 to $5.10 per share, from $5.50 to $5.85 previously, in part because of the high catastrophe losses for the year to date and because there have been no significant changes to the company's reserves or its invested assets.

    Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates forecast, on average, full-year operating earnings of $5.21 per share.

    The company said it had impairments of $44 million from securities issued by Lehman Brothers , which declared bankruptcy in September.

    (Reporting by Elinor Comlay; editing by John Wallace)