FBD Holdings plc has today (Friday, August 9) reported a profit before tax of €32.3 million in the first half of the year, down 18% from €39.5 million in the same period in 2023.
The insurer said that the performance up to June 30 was supported by continuing growth in insurance revenue, increasing investment returns and favourable reserve development from the previous year.
However, the result was offset by the impact of weather and the continuing frequency and inflation in motor damage and property claims.
Insurance
FBD Holdings said that insurance revenue was 9.3% higher than the first half of 2023, increasing to €212.6 million.
Gross written premium (GWP), which is the largest part of insurance revenue, was 9.5% higher than 2023 at €226 million with growth across all of the company’s customer groups.
Over 70% of that growth came through the company’s 34 local offices.
An increase of 8.3% in the average premium mainly related to customers increasing their level of insurance cover, a changing business mix and inflation, the group said.
Private motor average premiums increased by 5.6% due to the increasing cost of motor damage claims, additional complexity owing to new technology and an increasing frequency of such claims.
The average home premium rose by 11.5% reflecting increases in property sums insured as rebuild costs continue to increase.
There was a 6.9% increase in average farm premiums, again reflecting rising rebuilding costs.
The company said that its farmer sector is performing well, delivering more than half the premium growth.
The results show policy count growth of 4.5% across farmer, business and retail sectors excluding legacy scheme run-off.
Overall policy count growth of 1.1% is impacted by legacy scheme run-off during 2024.
Retention rates remain consistently high in the first half of 2024, the company said.
FBD Holdings
Commenting on the first half results, Tomás Ó Midheach, FBD Group chief executive, said that that it was a “strong, consistent performance” for the company.
He said that the business continued to grow over the period across all of its customer sectors.
“Our customer focused strategy has established a strong momentum, as seen in the increase in number of new customers over the period and in the retention rates of our loyal customers,” he said.
“With regard to our claims experience, motor damage continues to experience double digit inflation year-on-year.
“In addition, property claims increased substantially due to significant weather events in the first quarter, in particular Storm Isha,” he added.
Ó Midheach confirmed that the board has approved a special dividend of 100c per ordinary share.
“Our Solvency Capital Ratio of 204%, after this dividend, demonstrates the strength of the franchise,” he said.
“We look forward to building on this momentum in the second half of the year while delivering sustainable value for all our stakeholders,” he said.
FBD recently announced an investment in new agricultural research and education facilities at University College Dublin’s (UCD’s) Lyons Farm.
“This underscores FBD’s commitment to supporting Ireland’s rural communities and the future of Irish agriculture,” Ó Midheach said.