Group on track to meet or beat all targets, says chief executive
Insurance and broking group Hastings made an underlying profit after tax of £51.9m in the first half of 2016, up 55% on the £33.5m it made last year.
Actual profit before tax jumped to £42.7m from £4.8m, but this was mainly because of the lack of costs in the first half this year from the company’s initial public offering, which was completed in October last year.
Hastings H1 2016 key figures
| H1 2016 | H1 2015 | change (%/points) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross written premium (£m) | 360.6 | 282.7 | 27.6 |
| Investment income (£m) | 2.9 | 3 | -3.3 |
| Profit after tax (£m) | 42.7 | 4.8 | 789.6 |
| Adjusted profit after tax (£m) | 51.9 | 33.5 | 54.9 |
| COR (%) | 89.2 | 90 | -0.8 |
| Market share (%) | 6.2 | 5.5 | 0.7 |
| Solvency II coverage (%) | 156 | n/a | n/a |
The insurance part of the business reported improved underwriting profitability, with a combined operating ratio (COR) of 89.2% (H1 2015: 90%).
The insurance unit also grew, with a 28% increase in gross written premium to £360.6m (H1 2015: £282.7m) and a 17% increase in live customer policies to 2.2 million (H1 2015: 1.9 million).
The company also increased its share of the UK personal motor market to 6.2% (H1 2015: 5.5%).
Hastings chief executive Gary Hoffman (pictured) said that the company expected to perform well for the remainder of the year.
He said: “We remain well positioned to deliver continued profitable growth in 2016; the increases in premiums we’ve written will continue to earn through over the life of the policies, and we’ve seen no significant changes to the premium and claim inflation trends since the period end.
“We are firmly on track to meet, or beat, all of our targets.”
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