N.Z. Insurance earns $4M in four months

Press, 20 December 1978, Page 24

N.Z. Insurance earns $4M in four months

' hilMI L"rMTH-TOWTIMiIIII' LMWHIHIIfMI Commercial

The unaudited group net profit of the New Zealand (Insurance Company, Ltd, fori I the four months to Septem'ber 30 amounted to $4,023,000, compared with’ $4,637,000 for the full six months worldwide operation -for the year ended November 30 last year, the directors announced yesterday. Resulting from the changed balance date, the results now represented include:— four months underwriting and investment income ini New Zealand, five months finance operation in New Zealand, and six months operations elsewhere. I The last chairman’s report [advised that the current Ifinancial period would close ion March 31 next year, with (annual balance date thereafter being March 31 in place [of May 31. In this transitional I year this will result in the (inclusion of ten months 'operations only in New Zealand but the customary [twelve months operating [elsewhere. : The directors have ' declared an interim dividend

: of 9c a share, thereby main-: [gaining last year’s rate on .(the higher capital (increased I by the one-for-10 bonus issue, made in October). The >[ dividend, which is in line ijwith the indication given to shareholders at the time of Hthe bonus issue, will absorb ■! $1,539,000 which is equivalent to 9.9 per cent on the [capital before the issue of I the bonus shares, and will > be payable on January 24, ■ ex dividend January 8. Net premiums written, excluding life, rose 9.2 per II cent between the two not '(comparable periods, but the > underwriting surplus after tax was more than halved, . from $816,000 to $356,000. : Investment income was $4040 compared with i $4,113,000; the net profit of - the N.Z.I. Financial Corpori ation rose 69.1 per cent to I $433,000. The life assurance : shareholders’ interest was i $159,000 compared with ■ $185,000. while depreciation ' rose from $706,000 to ; $715,000, leaving — after deducting $252,000 (coim- : pared with $27,000) for the I'interest of shareholders out-

-side the group — the net of i $4,023,000. The life assurance life ; fund rose from $52.4M to : $60.0M, while net premium income for the period was $7,157,000 compared with '57,824,000. r In Australia (the group’s major market), the underwriting surplus has been Lconsiderably reduced in com-: 1 parison to the same period! /last year, and in New Zealand a small underwriting • [loss was incurred for the( • j four-month period. The fig-' t(ures do not include any! : i allowance for the South Is- ■ [ land floods which occured /after September 30, but it would appear that the comil pany’s involvement will not ( i affect the annual result to| f any great degree, the direct-1 . ors say. > "It is desirable to point out[ ; — as has been done pre-' ; viously — that because off i the cyclical nature of insurf i ance the initial period of the! 1 year cannot be interpreted! as being necessarily indie-j . ative of the likely outturn . ■ for the full year,” they say.