The Hibernian Group today announced growth in total operating profits for the first half of 2003 to €108.9m despite a material fall in life and pensions new business.
The Hibernian Group today announced growth in total operating profits for the first half of 2003 to €108.9m despite a material fall in life and pensions new business.
The highlights of Hibernian’s results are (see appendix below):
- Total Group operating profit up 15% to €108.9m
- Life and pensions premium income down 32% to €330m
- General insurance premiums up from €474m to €505m with operating profit increasing to €63.3m
- Funds under management increased to €7.2bn
Commenting on the results, Bryan Jenkins, Chief Executive, Hibernian Group, said:
“We have seen six months of good profit growth within the Group but with contrasting performances from the two main businesses”.
“The operating result in general insurance reflects strong premiums across the market as well as improving claim trends. These improvements are due to exceptionally benign weather conditions during the earlier part of the year and reduced motor accident frequency following the introduction of penalty points for motor offences, which initially had a favourable impact on driver behaviour.”
Bryan Jenkins also confirmed that Hibernian is still fully behind its decision to offer penalty-point free motorists a 10% reduction in their motor insurance premium from 1 November. However, he added that the company was very concerned at the recent increase in road deaths and stressed that enforcement of the penalty points system by the Gardai was crucial in ensuring that the initial positive impact could be maintained.
In Hibernian Life & Pensions, achieved operating profit was almost €14m lower than the first half of 2002 at €45m. This reflects a sharp fall in new business levels in 2003, partially offset by an increase in new business margin to 28%.
Bryan Jenkins said: “The fall in new business reflects two main factors; strong sales of SSIAs which contributed €37m to the first half of 2002, and the impact of slowing economic growth and poor stock market performance on single premium sales this year.”
On the subject of the government endorsed Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) Bryan Jenkins added, “Unfortunately industry wide sales of PRSAs have been disappointing. While we still have faith in the principles of a simple, transparent pension scheme, somewhere between the concept and the implementation the simple has become complex. Hibernian is committed to the PRSA project but would welcome a more coherent, co-ordinated approach from all three regulatory bodies involved in PRSAs; that is the Pensions’ Board, the Revenue Commissioners and IFSRA.”
Aviva plc shareholders entitled to receive a dividend converted to euro will receive €0.1270 per share. The payment date of the dividend will be 17 November 2003 and the record date will be 26 September 2003.
Irish shareholders are offered the opportunity to participate in the Group’s dividend reinvestment plan, which enables dividends to be reinvested in Aviva plc shares at reduced dealing costs. Shareholders who wish to do so should contact the Group’s Registrars at the address below in order to obtain full details and a mandate form. Completed mandate forms must be returned to the Registrar no later than 27 October 2003 in order to participate in the plan for the 2003 interim dividend.
The Group’s Registrar may be contacted at:
Lloyds TSB Registrars, The Causeway, Worthing, West Sussex, BN99 6DA.
Appendix: Hibernian Group
6 months to June 2003 financial summary
| 6 months to 30 June 2003 €m | 6 months to 30 June 2002 €m | |
| IRISH GROUP | ||
| Gross premium income | 835.0 | 957.9 |
| Operating profit (incl. life achieved profit) | 108.9 | 94.4 |
| LIFE & PENSIONS | ||
| Achieved Operating Profit | 45.1 | 58.7 |
| Embedded Value | 763.3 | 743.8 |
| New Business Contribution | 15.7 | 27.3 |
| Gross Premium Income | 329.9 | 484.2 |
| New Business Premium Income (APE) | 56.5 | 106.1 |
| GENERAL INSURANCE | ||
| Gross Written Premium Income | 505.1 | 473.7 |
| Operating Profit | 63.3 | 34.6 |
| INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT | ||
| Funds under management | 7,190 | 7,148 |
| Operating Profit | 0.5 | 1.1 |
Press contact: Kela O’Riordan, 01 607 8164 or 086 606 8842, kela.oriordan@hibernian.ie
Notes to editors:
- Hibernian is part of Aviva plc, the seventh largest insurance group worldwide based on gross written premium
- Hibernian is Ireland’s largest composite insurer, ranked first for general insurance and top five for life and pensions
- A photograph of Bryan Jenkins is available by ISDN
- Hibernian news releases are also available on www.hibernian.ie