FBD has announced intentions to grow its urban presence in a “disciplined fashion” while maintaining its market share in rural business, attendees at the group’s annual general meeting said (AGM) today, Friday, May 10.
At the meeting of FBD Holdings plc, chairman Liam Herlihy outlined the company’s current trading position.
“FBD’s 2019 trading performance to date has been good. The underlying profitability of the business is sound as we maintain our underwriting and pricing discipline in the face of continuing strong competition.
“Weather in the year to date has been benign with no significant events occurring,” Herlihy noted ahead of the event.
“While the current low interest rate environment persists, the global macroeconomic outlook has improved compared to Q4 2018. This has benefited our investment return in the year to date.
FBD has a strategy of growing its urban presence in a disciplined fashion and continuing to maintain its large market share in rural Ireland through the delivery of outstanding products and customer service.
“Brexit, and its likely impact, remains a major source of uncertainty for FBD, Irish farmers and Irish businesses.
“We continue to plan for any operational impacts which may arise and we will continue to support our customers through this transition,” the chairman concluded.
€50 profit in 2018
Earlier this year FBD Holdings revealed its preliminary financial announcement for 2018, showing a €50 million profit before tax.
It also revealed a proposed dividend for the year of 50c/share, and a full-year return on equity of 15%.
The results showed “excellent financial results” for 2018, according to the firm at the time, as a result of “continued underwriting discipline”.
In terms of premium income, the group earned €371.5 million – a slight decrease from 2017’s income.