Chesnara's H1 pre-tax profit slips, dividend lifted

(ShareCast News) - Insurance-focused takeover specialist Chesnara has booked a first-half pre-tax profit of £0.24m, from a year-earlier surplus of £30.4m, stating its strategy continued to deliver dividend-supporting cash."Despite the initial short term impact of the further reduction in yield curve following the Bank of England's reduction in interest rate, we retain the view that the outlook for Chesnara remains largely unchanged," said chief executive John Deane.The comparative period enjoyed a greater net investment return of £182.2m, versus £108.7m in the just-finished leg.Net insurance premium revenues totalled £32.9m, from £34.3m. Interim dividend was boosted 2.9% to 6.8p a share, from 6.61p. Group solvency ratio was 148%, from 146% six months ago."The Chesnara strategy continues to deliver cash to support our dividend. Whilst the IFRS pre tax profits have been adversely impacted by the reduction in interest rates we have benefited from foreign exchange movements," Deane said in a statement."I am particularly pleased to report that our Economic Value has increased during the period and our Group Solvency ratio has improved," he added."The reductions in the yield curve in the UK has dampened the level of cash emerging from the UK books this half year but the overseas divisions have continued their cash generation that funds our dividend strategy."