Santam weathers catastrophe claims
The insurer increased its dividend by 8%
Santam’s share price was unchanged on Thursday morning, after the short-term insurer reported headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the year to end-December rose 31% to R10.86. This compares with recent guidance of HEPS growth of between 29% and 34%. The company increased its dividend by 8%, to R6.16 per share. Investment income jumped 56.25% to R1.3bn, from the prior period’s R832m, mainly due to the positive fair value adjustments on the investment portfolios and the release of foreign currency gains on the winding up of Santam International. The group’s conventional insurance business reported a net underwriting margin of 6%, from the prior period’s 6.5%. This was despite the period being marked by significant catastrophe claims, as well as several large commercial fire claims during the first half of 2017, the company said in its results statement on Thursday. The net underwriting margin met the midpoint of the group’s long-term target range of 4%-8% of net earned premiums. Cas...
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