G Generali

ZURICH—Zurich Insurance Group AG on Thursday said its first-quarter net profit fell 28%, but it was able to flag improvements in its core business.

The Swiss insurance giant said net profit for the three months ended in March fell to $875 million from $1.22 billion in the same period last year. Gross written premiums declined to $12.8 billion from $13.8 billion.

Return on investments in the quarter improved to 2.7%, compared with 2.6% in the period last year, the company said.

Gross written premiums for general insurance, Zurich Insurance's largest business, slipped to $9.1 billion from $10.1 billion. However, the company cited improved profitability at the unit.

Shares of Zurich Insurance rose 2.7% in midmorning European trade.

The company has been navigating a difficult period which has seen its chief executive replaced and thousands of jobs cut.

In March, former Assicurazioni Generali SpA Chief Executive Mario Greco returned to Zurich Insurance, where he once ran the general insurance business.

"The biggest issue is the reputation, the credibility of the company," Mr. Greco said during a media briefing Thursday. "This is the most important thing to restore."

Mr. Greco added that it is too early to disclose details of his strategic plans.

For the first quarter, the general insurance business reported a combined ratio of 97.7%—an improvement over the 103.6% reported for all of 2015. The combined ratio is a measure of how much is paid on claims and costs for each dollar earned, and a ratio of less than 100% means that an insurance firm's underwriting business is profitable.

Zurich Insurance said improvement at the general insurance business should continue. "We expect performance to strengthen further as the year progresses," Chief Financial Officer George Quinn said during the briefing.

Write to John Letzing at john.letzing@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 12, 2016 04:45 ET (08:45 GMT)

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