(Reuters) - Hotels, energy and financial services conglomerate Loews Corp's third-quarter profit rose, helped by higher investment income and lower catastrophe losses at CNA Financial Corp , its largest holding.
Catastrophe losses after tax at CNA Financial - in which Loews has a 90 percent stake - fell to $18 million, in the third quarter, from $32 million a year earlier.
Net operating profit at the seventh-largest commercial insurer in the United States rose to $216 million, or 80 cents per share, from $91 million, or 34 cents per share, a year earlier.
Insurance companies like Travelers Cos Inc
Loews, run by the billionaire Tisch family, said net investment income for the third quarter more than doubled to $682 million from the earlier year.
Net income attributable to Loews rose to $177 million, or 45 cents per share, from $162 million, or 40 cents per share a year earlier.
Revenue increased 8 percent to $3.71 billion from the previous year.
Revenue from Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc
Shares of Loews, which has a market value of about $16.8 billion, closed at $42.39 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.
(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane)