Ace Insurance, which completed its takeover of US rival Chubb on January 15, has posted a 0.7% drop in net profit for last calendar year.

Net profit for Legacy Ace, as it is described in the earnings report, totalled $US2.83 billion ($4 billion), down from $US2.85 billion ($4.02 billion) the previous year as operating income took a hit from currency movements, falling 3.3% to $US3.21 billion ($4.53 billion).

Global property and casualty (P&C) net written premium dropped 0.5% to $US15.72 billion ($22.19 billion) and the P&C combined operating ratio improved to 87.4% from 87.7%.

“Foreign exchange headwinds, which have affected all dollar-based multinationals, impacted our revenue, income and book value growth throughout the year,” Chairman and CEO Evan Greenberg said.

The merged entity, which trades as Chubb, is off to a good start despite the legacy result.

“We are now the new Chubb, the largest publicly traded P&C insurer in the world,” Mr Greenberg said. “The energy, morale and overall feeling of optimism are high throughout the ranks of the company.

“We are focused on knitting ourselves together as one and achieving the ambitious targets we have set and expect of ourselves and the value creation we will generate for the benefit of our customers, business partners, employees and shareholders.”

Net income for Legacy Chubb increased 1.7% to $US2.14 billion ($3.02 billion) last year and operating income grew 0.3% to $US1.86 billion ($2.62 billion).

Net written premium increased to $US12.63 billion ($17.83 billion) from $US12.59 billion ($17.77 billion) and the combined operating ratio strengthened to 87.2% from 88.3%.