Royal & Sun Alliance has reported a 21% rise in its operating profit for the first nine months of 2006 to £590m from £488m for the same period in 2005.
The group however reported a slight drop of 9% in its profit after tax to £344m from £378m, although the 2005 figure included £166m from the disposal of R&SA's Japanese business.
The group's underwriting result for the nine-month period rose some 22% to £238m from £195m. The combined ratio was 93.1% a marginal improvement on the 2005 period.
Commenting on the results, Andy Haste, group chief executive of Royal & Sun Alliance said, “It has been a good nine months for the group. We have again delivered a strong performance with a 21% increase in the operating result and we have made significant progress towards our strategic objectives through organic growth, bolt on acquisitions and organisational change.”
Highlighting the ongoing effort to divest itself of its US operations, Haste said that once the sale is completed it will “resolve our last remaining legacy issue”. However, as reported last week, General Motors has thrown a potential spanner into the works, with the announcement that the company is seeking legal action to prevent the sale.
Haste added that the group remains on track to “come inside our 2006 full year guidance of a combined operating ratio of around 95%.”
