GWP up 61.5% to reach KD 246.6m for 9 months of 2017

Khaled Al-Hasan

KUWAIT: Gulf Insurance Group (gig) announced a net profit of KD 8 million ($26.6 million), or 44.86 fils per share, for the first nine months of 2017. This is down 24 percent from the KD 10.56 million ($35 million) recorded for the same period last year. This decrease is due to the group's share of results from its subsidiaries.

Shareholder equity reached KD 82.4 million ($272.9 million) as at September 30, 2017, compared to KD 82.3 million ($272.6 million) as at December 31, 2016. Book value per share reached 460 fils as at September 30, 2017.

Gross written premium reached KD 246.6 million ($816.5 million), with an increase of 61.5 percent compared to the KD 152.7 million ($505.6 million) made during the same period last year.

Net investment income and sundry income increased to reach KD 10.6 million ($34.96 million) compared to KD 8.1 million ($26.9 million) for the same period last year, an increase of 30 percent.

Net technical reserves rose from KD 106.4 million ($352.4 million) on December 31, 2016, to KD 144.3 million ($477.98 million) as at September 30, 2017. This increase represents a growth of 35.6 percent and it supports the company's technical operations and protects policyholders' rights, thereby strengthening gig's ability to withstand emergencies and risks that may rise in the future.

Total assets reached KD 542.7 million ($1.8 billion) as at September 30, 2017, an increase of KD 166.8 million ($552.4 million) or 44.4 percent from December 31, 2016.

Khaled Al-Hasan, gig's CEO, said: "Our results for the first nine months of 2017 reflect the growth we have achieved. This is also a strong indication of the Group's ability to protect its assets and shareholders' equity. It is also in line with our constant strive to provide the best insurance services to our clients across all markets we operate in, supported by our strategy for regional expansion and increasing our domestic and regional market share."

He added: "We thank our clients for these achievements, as well as the support of our shareholders, namely KIPCO - Kuwait Projects Company (Holding) - and Fairfax Middle East Ltd. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to our dedicated employees for their efforts."