Liberty Mutual Group has reported net income of $274 million for the second quarter, a decrease of $26 million for the same period in 2008.

In today’s conference call on the results, Edmund F. Kelly, president, chairman and CEO of the Boston-based insurer, said core profitability was strong and consistent with expectations. Altogether, he said, the results were "remarkable" given the economic conditions.

Excluding private equity losses, net income was $287 million in the quarter versus $262 million in the prior year. Revenues for the quarter were $7.83 billion, and net written premium for the three month span was $6.9 billion, an increase of 10 percent over the same period of last year.

Kelly mentioned the catastrophe-heavy previous year as a continuing drain on Liberty Mutual, and the company’s information shows that September 2008 hurricanes alone were responsible for $8 million in losses in 2009, and other catastrophes accounted for $245 million in losses.