Novae looking for strong fourth quarter

Underwriter Novae Group is looking for the steady improvements in trading in the third quarter to feed through to the fourth quarter in order to make good setbacks suffered in the first half.The group's gross written premiums in the first nine months of 2209 rose 15.1% to £308.2m from £267.8m in the corresponding period of 2008. The income in the first three quarters of the year represents around just under three quarters (74%) of budgeted income for the year. At the same stage last year, the company had banked 76% of planned annual income.Rate increases averaged 9% over the reporting period, compared to a 7% slide in the first nine months of 2008. The average rate increase is towards the top end of management expectations, which are within a range of 5% to 10% for the year as a whole.Investment return in the period totalled £26.5m, versus £32m a year ago, and equates to an annualised return on average invested assets of 3.34%, versus 4.44% a year earlier.As at 1 October, the group had investment assets of £1.04bn, down from £1.1bn at the end of 2008. 'A healthy level of profit in the third quarter has countered losses on credit and aviation reinsurance business in the first half,' the company said . 'Although yields, particularly for short duration UK and US government bonds, are significantly lower than a year ago, the investment portfolio was re-positioned sufficiently early in the year to reduce this headwind for 2009,' the company added.