Beazley shares dive amid stormy session
LLoyd’s of London insurer Beazley is counting the cost of major natural disasters that caused havoc across Europe and North America over the summer months.
The FTsE 250 firm estimated losses of £63m from the effects of Hurricane Ida, which hit the coast of Louisiana in late August.
The storm was the second-most destructive hurricane in the history of the state, surpassed only by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, claiming around 1,800 lives.
Things were similarly costly in Europe, which was hit by devastating floods in July that swept across several countries including Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and switzerland. Beazley has pencilled in losses of £29.7m relating to the catastrophe.
Both incidents have raised alarm bells over the effects of climate change on extreme weather, which has previously been blamed for causing catastrophic forest fires across Australia and California.
despite the hefty £93m cost of the disasters, Beazley’s shares jumped 5.4pc, or 21.3p, to 417.3p as the company’s premiums for the three months to the end of september came in ahead of expectations. Gross premiums for the period surged 29pc year-onyear to £2.4bn. Premium rates for its renewal business also rose by 23pc, ahead of the company’s predictions. Most of the growth in premiums came from the group’s cyber and executive risk business, which expanded by 44pc year-onyear to £736m.
‘I am delighted that the momentum from the first half has persisted into the second,’ said Beazley boss Adrian Cox.
He added: ‘We continue to be strongly capitalised and are well placed to take advantage of these favourable market conditions.’
The FTSE 100 climbed 0.33pc, or 24.05 points, to a 2021 high of 7303.96, while the FTSE 250 rose 0.54pc, or 125.68 points, to 23596.79. Markets were buoyed by better than expected Us jobs data which saw payroll numbers grow by 531,000 in october, better than the 450,000 expected.
The blue-chip index was supported by shares in BT, which was up 1.4pc, or 2.2p, at 160p after bringing back its dividend.
Pharma giant Glaxosmithkline also provided a lift, rising 0.4pc, or 5.6p, to 1576p.
Banking stocks added support with Natwest up 2.1pc, or 4.5p, at 216.8p, HSBC rising 0.9pc, or 3.75p, to 437.25p, Lloyds climbing 1.8pc, or 0.86p to 49.11p and Barclays lifting 0.5pc, or 0.88p, to 192.38p.
Also rising was Rolls-Royce, up 5.8pc, or 7.86p, to 142.94p amid hopes the reopening of the Us to international travellers next week will boost demand for its engines from commercial airlines.
Morgan Advanced Materials, which makes ceramics and crucibles for metal smelting factories, surged 8.3pc, or 28p, to 365p after predicting a full-year performance at the top of its expectations. sales in the nine months to september were up 8.9pc year-onyear, and as a result, Morgan expected growth for the whole of 2021 would be towards the higher end of its forecast of 7pc to 9pc.
Telecoms firm Airtel Africa bounced 11.2pc, or 12.2p, to 121.2p after its smartcash payment service received approval in principle to operate in Nigeria. The firm expects full approval within the next six months.
4imprint Group, which makes promotional items such as bags and pens, sank 3.9pc, or 120p, to 2925p as supply chain issues and inflation continued to cause issues. despite this, it expected the full-year performance to be in line with expectations.
Rare stamp dealership Stanley Gibbons gained 3.3pc, or 0.1p, to 3.1p after unveiling plans to launch fractional ownership of the 1cBlack on Magenta, the world’s most valuable stamp, from next week. Investors can own a portion of the stamp, the only known surviving copy of a limited set issued in British Guiana in 1856.