Saudi Arabia: Reinsurer more than doubled net profit in 1Q2019
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jul 2019
Saudi Reinsurance (Saudi Re), the kingdom’s sole local reinsurer, saw its net profit before zakat surge by 227% in the first quarter of 2019 (1Q2019) to SAR24.8m ($6.6m), compared to SAR7.6m for the corresponding quarter of 2018.
The increase in 1Q2019 net profit was mainly due to a jump of 391% in gains on investments of funds attributable to shareholders to SAR22.83m from SAR4.65m in the corresponding period last year, according to the company’s information lodged with the stock exchange Tadawul.
For the first three months of this year, GWP reached SAR424m, down 19.6% from the same quarter of 2018, while net premiums dropped by 18% to SAR403m. Net incurred claims increased to SAR121.3m in 1Q2019, up 7.8% from the first quarter of the previous year.
Saudi Re’s capital stood at SAR810m as at end of March 2019. Shareholders’ equity (after deducting minority equity) reached SAR854.2m, a 2.35% increase from the corresponding period of the past year.
The reinsurer commands a stake of 49.9% in Bermuda-based Probitas Holdings (Bermuda) (PHBL), an investment that supports Saudi Re in diversifying its risk portfolio and gaining access to the Lloyd’s market. With a branch in Labuan, the reinsurer writes life and non-life business in more than 40 markets in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. M
SAR1 = $0.27