South African life insurer Metropolitan Holdings increased annual headline earnings per share by 28% and said on Wednesday the outlook for its target markets remained positive.
Metropolitan, South Africa’s fourth-biggest life insurer by market capitalisation, said on Wednesday total long-term insurance premium income increased by 40% to R11-billion while recurring premium income rose nine percent to R6,3-billion.
Shares in Metropolitan outperformed rivals as South Africa’s bourse fell 3% in a fresh sell-off sparked by emerging market worries.
Metropolitan shares were 1,29% down at R15,30, outperforming the JSE Securities Exchange’s mid-cap index which lost 2,12% by 7.45am GMT.
The group, which says it is the largest long-term financial services group in Africa focused on the low and middle-income markets, said it remained confident about the outlook for its target markets.
”Despite the increase in general consumption, the outlook in the group’s target markets remains positive. Higher interest rates and debt levels during 2006 are being mitigated by lower inflation, rising employment rates, an improved GDP outlook, further reductions in taxation and growing business confidence,” it said.
One Johannesburg analyst said the group’s annual results were better than expected.
”The results are better than we expected, embedded value is much higher than expected and the only negative is that new business margins is weaker than the average,” the analyst said.
Retail new business annual premium equivalent (APE) was 8% up on the 2005 financial year and the group said it would pay a special dividend of 77 cents per share.
Retail new business increased by 14% to R114-million but the group’s retail new business margin on an APE basis rose slightly to 12,1% from 11,5% in the previous financial year.
Metropolitan’s embedded value per share rose to R17,02 from R14,99 a year ago but its return on embedded value slipped to 25,5% from 28,9% a year ago.
Embedded value is a company’s underlying asset value plus its prospects for profitability. – Reuters