28th Sep 2023 10:55
(Alliance News) - Helios Underwriting PLC on Thursday said it swung to a profit in the first half of 2023, as revenue increased, while it added it expects its portfolio to "thrive".
In the six months that ended June 30, pretax profit for the investment vehicle, which provides shareholders with participation in the Lloyd's insurance market, totalled GBP6.3 million, swinging from a loss of GBP2.8 million a year earlier.
Helios Underwriting said its net tangible asset value per share stood at GBP1.54 on June 30, up from GBP1.52 on December 31.
Revenue rose 69% to GBP93.7 million from GBP55.3 million a year earlier. Gross premiums written rose 28% to GBP158.5 million from GBP124.1 million.
Looking ahead, Chief Executive Officer Martin Reith said continually improving market conditions "presents exciting opportunities" for Helios Underwriting.
"The portfolio is positioned to benefit from pricing and market discipline and underwriting profits are now being recognised from five years of improved underwriting margins. We are confident that given market discipline, we should continue to see favourable returns across our portfolio. The resilience of these conditions seem to be more sustainable and we fully expect our portfolio to thrive," said Reith.
"The results are a little skewed as a consequence of the recent rapid 33% growth in our retained capacity in 2023 and a cautious approach to reserving adopted within our portfolio. With the passage of time and as the better loss ratio premium earns through, we are confident that our portfolio will demonstrate outperformance against a prudent reserving strategy. The impact of the increased yields on the group investments will make a contribution in the future."
Shares in Helios Underwriting were up 7.2% to 126.00 pence each in London on Thursday morning.
By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News reporter
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