6th Aug 2015 07:14
(Correcting pretax profit figures.)
LONDON (Alliance News) - RSA Insurance Group PLC was tight-lipped Thursday about the prospect of a takeover offer from Swiss insurer Zurich Insurance Group, as it reported a strong set of interim results.
Zurich has been mulling a cash bid for the FTSE 100 insurer, and earlier on Thursday said it looks like a good fit.
Speaking to journalists on a conference call, RSA Chief Executive Stephen Hester said the ball is in Zurich's court.
"Our very, very strong focus is making sure that RSA is on a path to becoming the most valuable company we can make it. We believe that path is one we can tread. We believe the value of RSA standalone can be strong," Hester told journalists.
RSA was reporting results for the first half of 2015, which showed that operating profit on a management basis increased to GBP259 million in the six months to the end of June, compared with GBP141 million in the corresponding half of the prior year. Pretax profit on a management basis jumped to GBP288 million from GBP69 million.
RSA reinstated its interim dividend at 3.5 pence per share.
"We are making fundamental improvements to RSA, as promised. These interim results show excellent progress on all key measures. The foundations are being laid to improve still further. ?Profits are up strongly on both a headline and underlying basis. Premium income has been stabilised, underwriting and cost levers are responding positively," Hester said.
Zurich earlier said its own second-quarter net profit fell to USD840 million from USD848 million in the same quarter the prior year.
"Separately, we have informed the market that we are evaluating a potential offer for RSA Insurance Group PLC. We believe that a transaction could bring significant benefits to us and to our investors in terms of the complementary fit of RSA's business with our own operations and in financial terms. But any capital deployment would need to meet the same hurdles that we apply to any other investment," Zurich Chief Executive Martin Senn said in a statement.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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