Insurance group FBD has today announced an almost 50% increase in its pre-tax profits for the first six months of the year to €157.4m. It made pre-tax profits of €106m the same time last year.
The company says its profits were enhanced by the sale of land in Spain which generated a profit of €83.6m.
FBD said it achieved total income amounting to €207m in the first six months, mostly made up of premium income and investment income.
Net premium income amounted to €173.2m while the amount the company paid out in claims came to €108.5m. The cost of claims increased by 18% compared to the previous year.
Increased competition and falling premium rates saw FBD's operating profit dip by €11m to €75.7m. The figure was still better than forecast. Earnings per share fell from 192 cent to 173 cent.
FBD did however grow its gross written premium figure to €204m, a 6% increase on the same time last year. The company says it will pay a dividend of 24 cent per share, a 20% increase on the same time last year.
'All of our businesses continue to perform satisfactorily and we are confident regarding the outcome for the full year. We continue to focus on maximising returns to shareholders,' commented FBD's CEO Philip Fitzsimons.
In June, FBD said it was on course to achieve its operating profit target for the six months to June 30 and was comfortable with market expectations for full-year operating earnings.
It said at the time that pre-tax profits would benefit substantially from the recent sale of land in Spain but a decline in capital markets had had a negative effect on in investment returns, and consequently on pre-tax profit.
FBD shares closed up 20 cent to €38.80 in Dublin this evening.
