MAPFRE Middlesea registers profit before tax of €17.71 million

The board of directors has announced that the total group profit before tax for the year ending 2017 amounted to €17.71 million as compared to €11.65 million during the previous year with after tax profits at €13.52 million compared to €8.93 million in 2016.

MAPFRE Middlesea p.l.c., as a standalone company registered a turnover of €61.94 million in gross premium written, a 3.2% increase over the previous year, thus retaining market leadership. The technical results rebounded strongly due to an improved combined ratio following the correction of the motor tariff in 2017. Investment income, though reduced marginally from the previous years, was driven by improved property income and fair value movements.

The dividends from Group companies increased to €7.08 million from €2.67 in 2016, the company registered a profit before tax of €12.17 million, compared to a profit of €2.48 million in 2016. Profit after tax increased from €2.60 million in 2016 to €10.34 million in 2017.

These results include results of €12.31 million profit before tax of MAPFRE MSV LIFE p.l.c.. MAPFRE MSV reported a turnover of €291.46 million compared to €274.50 million in 2016 as a result of increases in demand across all products in particular single premium savings contracts and life protection business. Equity and bond markets produced robust yet weaker returns than those generated in previous year with net investment income decreasing from €78.1 million in 2016 to €66.4 million in 2017. The profit after tax consolidated for FY 2017 amounted to €10.02 million (2016: € €8.59 million).

Total Group capital and reserves attributable to shareholders was at €99.88 million, compared to €86.83 million in 2016.

The company maintained a strong balance sheet, with its shareholders’ equity amounting to €68.84 million still maintaining a strong regulatory solvency position.

A gross dividend in respect of year ended 31 December 2017 of €0.11304 per share amounting to a total dividend of €10,400,000 is to be proposed by the direc- tors at the forthcoming annual general meeting, with the net dividend being €9,700,000 or €0.10543 per share.

The Board outlook for 2018 is one of cautious optimism where the demand for general business is expected to continue to grow while the demand for the protection savings and investments products in life is expected to remain strong.

The company will continue to maintain strong focus on our customers through the implementation of a number of initiatives to strengthen further the digital platform and widen the digital marketing strategy.