Broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) issued a bullish interim management statement this morning (11 November 2008) predicating strong growth despite the credit crunch.
The statement said: “JLT remains on track to deliver sustainable profitable growth in 2008, despite the current circumstances of unprecedented dislocation and uncertainty in the financial sector worldwide.”
The broker said its third quarter trading was in line with expectations across its five lines of business - retail, specialty, wholesale, reinsurance and employee benefits.
It said it had low debt and “significant headroom” in its bank facilities, hinting that it could seize opportunities to expand. The company also said its future results would benefit from current favourable exchange rates.
JLT said its current investments in a range of initiatives would serve it well. These included: Thistle Underwriters performing platform underwriting, Insurantz.com for the SME market and broking insurance–linked instruments such as catastrophe swaps and bonds.
Dominic Burke, chief executive said: “We are facing a challenging insurance market and very difficult economic conditions but in the last three years we have taken the corrective actions needed and have put the right strategy in place to ensure that JLT’s operations are in a strong position to make continued financial progress.”
