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LONDON (Alliance News) - Life insurance and long-term savings provider Hansard Global PLC saw a drop in profit in its recently ended financial year, as total income more than halved in the period.
Pretax profit dipped to GBP6.9 million for the year to the end of June from GBP7.7 million the year before, on higher expenses at GBP29.4 million from GBP27.1 million, and total income that fell sharply to GBP74.7 million from GBP188.6 million.
Fee and commissions income remained flat at GBP52.6 million, however investment income dropped sharply to GBP21.5 million from GBP135.5 million, due to movement in unrealised gains to a loss of GBP25.0 million from a gain of GBP103.1 million the prior year.
Total new business sales for the year fell to GBP146.6 million from GBP148.3 million on a present value of new business premiums basis, due to the company repositioning itself in the Far East region to focus more on locally licensed businesses.
Hansard Global has declared a final dividend of 2.65 pence per share, down from 5.30p the year before.
"The group's profit performance in 2018 reflects a year of consolidation of the sales growth achieved in the past two years and investment in the future of the business. During the period, we have repositioned the group to ensure it fits with future global regulatory change and development," said Chief Executive Officer Gordon Marr.
"We have established a new group insurance company in the Bahamas and are making good progress with our application to operate in Japan. These initiatives position us well to take advantage of global growth opportunities going forward," Marr added.
Shares in Hansard Global were down 2.5% at 59.49 pence on Thursday.