American insurer Liberty Mutual has reported a 2% lift in net profit to $US456 million ($506.5 million) for the three months to December 31.

Revenue for the quarter slipped 2.6% to $US7.94 billion ($8.82 billion).

Full-year net profit was down 8% on 2008 at $US1.02 billion ($1.13 billion) on revenue of $US31.09 billion ($34.5 billion), a 7.8% increase on the previous year.

The company’s combined ratio for the year came down 0.2% to 99.9%.

CEO Edmund Kelly says the fourth quarter and full-year results reflect the continued strength of core businesses in challenging economic and competitive environments.

“We will uphold our commitment to disciplined underwriting and reserving in order to maintain balance sheet strength,” he said.