Bahrain: Arig's premiums and profits up in the first nine months
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Dec 2016
Arig has announced consolidated net profits of US$3.4 million for the first nine months of 2016, compared to $1.4 million in the same period last year. The result includes a loss of $3.5 million due to Forex movements against the US Dollar. Despite challenging conditions for reinsurers, the company managed to achieve 7% growth in its revenues over the most recent three quarters, writing $227.5 million in gross premiums over the period.
At the same time, Arig’s combined ratio reduced by four points to 92.9%, against 97.1% in the first nine months of 2015. Income from investments reinforced the positive trend adding $15.4 million to the result, compared to $10.1 million in the period of 2015.
The net profit for the third quarter alone was $1.7 million, compared to a net loss of $4.8 million in the same quarter of 2015, while Arig wrote gross premiums of $21.3 million during the period, compared with $26.5 million in the same quarter of 2015.
Mr Yassir Albaharna, CEO of Arig, said: “Some larger claims in our region, the effect of Brexit on the value of the British Pound and lower demand for reinsurance were among the challenges we had to manage in 2016. On a positive note, our discontinued portfolios are running off smoothly and we are starting to see the benefits of a streamlined reinsurance portfolio, which is reflecting in our improved combined ratio.”
Arig’s shareholders’ equity stood at $254.6 million on 30 September 2016, compared to $244.2 million at the end of 2015. Book value per share was $1.29 at the end of the third financial quarter of 2016, compared to $1.23 at the end of 2015.