Swiss Re CEO to retire as net profit soars

Swiss re has announced that its chief executive will be retiring, and posted a 31-percent hike in net profit in 2015 as the costs linked to natural disasters slid.

Swiss Re said its chief executive Michel Lies, 62, was set to retire after 35 years in the company and would be replaced on July 1 by the 46-year-old head of the company's reinsurance unit, Swiss citizen Christian Mumenthaler.

The change at the top was announced as the company, announced strong results for 2015, as well as a planned new share buy-back of up to EUR911 million.

For 2015, Swiss Re said it had raked in a net profit of EUR4.2 billion, boosted by lower costs linked to natural disasters.

Not counting currency fluctuations, it said its income from premiums was up four percent last year. Lies hailed the company's performance in 2015 as the culmination of several years of strong results.

"We have delivered a strong performance based on our underwriting discipline over the past five years and end this period with one of our highest-ever profits," he said in the earnings report.