Mar 2017 Financial News

Guardian Holdings profit up by 18%

Mar 15, 2017

Guardian Holdings Ltd (GHL) has recorded an 18 per cent increase in profit attributable to equity shareholders for 2016. According to the group’s consolidated financial results for the year ended December 2016, group profits increased to $396 million, an increase of 61 per cent over 2015 results.  GHL’s net income from investing activities for the year increased by $239 million, from $788 million in 2015 to $1,028 million. The company said this was driven by improvements in all major categories of investment income, mainly due to GHL’s measured employment of liquid resources. However, its net income from insurance underwriting activities fell by $50 million to $613 million. In his report to shareholders, GHL deputy chairman Henry Peter Ganteaume explained why:  “As explained in last year’s Chairman’s Report, there was a favourable non-recurring reserve release arising from a change in the taxation of insurance companies in Jamaica. Excluding the impact of this exceptional item, net income from insurance underwriting activities increased year-over-year in our Life, Health and Pension segment. Our Property & Casualty segment reported a $33 million decline in underwriting results, primarily as a result of the loss reserve of $38 million established for claims arising from Hurricane Matthew which affected a number of territories in the North Caribbean during September and October 2016.”

He said GHL’s operating expenses increased from $886 million to $998 million. Significant costs, he said, were incurred in connection with strategic investments made during 2016, directed towards enhancing Group profitability.

He said recurring expenditure of all GHL’s companies was confined to an increase of three per cent for the year.

“The Group’s results benefited from a net gain from discontinued operations of $23 million related to close-out adjustments on legacy items which were ultimately favourable due to the conservative positions taken when these were designated as Discontinued,” Ganteaume said.

He added: “Confident in the future outlook of the Group, the total dividend per share will be increased by eight per cent, from 61 cents to 66 cents. Consequently, further to the interim dividend of 21 cents, the final dividend will be 45 cents (2015 — 42 cents) and will be paid to shareholders on record on March 28, 2017, when the register of members will be closed for this purpose.” 

Source:
By Leah Sorias
leah.sorias@trinidadexpress.com
Trinidad Express
Tuesday March 14, 2017, 10:35 pm AST

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20170314/news/guardian-holdings-profit-up-by-18