HSTG.L Share News (HSTG)

(Sharecast News) - Hastings Group posted a rise in first-half pre-tax profit on Wednesday as gross written premiums and net revenue grew despite adverse weather claims and the insurer said it remains on track to deliver on its 2019 targets.In the six months to 30 June, pre-tax profit increased to £86.8m from £68.9m the year before as gross written premiums rose 5% to £485.6m and live customer policies jumped 6% to 2.70 million.Operating profit was 22% higher at £105.1m after including £14.6m of prior year VAT recovery and a £7m impact from adverse weather in the first quarter. Excluding those two factors, operating profit was up 13% to £97.5m.Net revenue in the half was up 8% to £376.3m and Hastings increased its share of the UK private car insurance market to 7.5% from 7% in June last year. The interim dividend was lifted by 10% to 4.5p per share and the company said it is well positioned to deliver in line with all of its targets during 2019 despite the competitive market and expected claims inflation.Hastings also announced the introduction of a new mobile app enhanced functionality on the customer portal, enabling 80% of policy changes to be made online. It noted that as of May, digital contacts now exceed telephone contacts.Chief executive officer Toby van der Meer said: "This has been in an environment where we have seen market prices come down from the highs of 2017, driven by lower claims frequencies, the prospect of regulatory reform, and competition. We have also seen adverse weather, continued fraud activity across the market, and some increase in the cost of repairs and mid-range bodily injury claims, resulting in a claims inflation outlook for the full year towards the upper end of a 3% to 5% range."Looking forward, we will continue to invest in technology. Alongside the continued rollout and enhancements to our core Guidewire platform, we have developed new digital capabilities over the last few months and very recently, launched our new Hastings mobile app. Our pricing and anti-fraud platforms also continue to develop and we have identified and taken action against over 30 different fraud rings so far this year."Shore Capital said customer policies and gross written premiums were in line with consensus expectations, while the dividend was 2% better than expected.At 0807 BST, the shares were up 0.3% to 244.10p.