PEMBROKE, Bermuda—Validus Holdings Ltd. said it had a profit of $897.4 million in 2009, up sharply from a profit of $53.1 million the previous year.

The Bermuda-based reinsurer on Thursday attributed the gain, in part, to its acquisition of IPC Holdings Ltd. and lower catastrophe claims.

Validus also reported higher net premiums written of $1.39 billion for the year, compared with $1.24 billion in 2008.

Validus recorded a net investment income of $118.8 million for 2009, down from $139.5 million the previous year.

The company posted a combined ratio of 68.9% for 2009, aided by $102.1 million in loss reserves, compared with 92.2 for 2008.

Last September, Validus completed its $1.77 billion acquisition of IPC, which it won in a bidding battle with Bermuda-based reinsurer Max Capital Group Ltd.

In a statement, Chairman and CEO Ed Noonan said that “as a consequence of this acquisition and of strong underlying financial results in our Validus Re and Talbot (Holdings Ltd.) segments, we closed the quarter with total shareholders’ equity of $4.03 billion.”