Hastings takes £200m hit as it clocks up worst day
Rising competition caused insurer Hastings to take a dive, as it suffered its worst-ever day on the stock market.
Almost £200m was wiped off the FTsE 250 firm’s value, as shares fell 13.7pc, or 30.1p, to 190.3p.
in a trading update, the home and motor insurance specialist blamed its disappointing figures on higher competition.
Hastings said premiums were falling across all firms. Though its own average written premiums were up 2pc for the year to date, analysts at shore Capital said this would be of little comfort to investors since the number of policies in the third quarter of the year was flat, at 2.7m.
shore Capital’s Paul De’Ath said: ‘Hastings remains confident in its ability to reach 3m customer policies in 2019 – but the slowdown seen in this quarter will not be reassuring.’
Hastings also warned that the sums customers were claiming under their insurance policies were growing faster than the amount they were paying for premiums, adding extra pressure. Retirement savings firm
Just Group, on the other hand, shot up by 12.2pc, or 9.1p, to 83.4p.
investors piled in after the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority ( PRA), which supervises risk controls, pushed back mortgage changes.
The proposals for so- called equity release mortgages, where over-55s can redeem part of the value of their home in cash, will impose stricter rules on how insurers calculate the future value of homes. This would generally mean they have to hold more money to cover any potential future risks.
But after being criticised for
rushing in the changes, and not giving firms enough time to react, the PRA said it would delay any new rules for at least a year.
gordon Aitken, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said: ‘We see the unexpected PRA announcement as a sign it is listening to the industry and will soften its stance.’
Rolls- Royce helped the FTSE 100 rise 0.59pc, or 41.12 points, to 7004.10, as a norwegian ship operator ordered four new vessels fitted with its power and propulsion units. shares motored 3.8pc, or 32p, higher to 872p.
ITV fell for the third day in a row, after being slapped with its second broker downgrade in as many days. The broadcaster, which had ridden a wave of popularity over the summer due to the success of Love island and the football World Cup, was criticised by Morgan stanley and Deutsche Bank for weak advertising revenue.
Morgan stanley cut its target price from 210p to 190p, while Deutsche Bank went even lower, from 190p to 170p. iTV ended the day down 3.9pc, or 5.95p, at 145.2p. Copper miner Kaz Minerals climbed as it ramped up production. Full- year copper output would be at the upper end of its 110,000 to 130,000-ton range, it said, while gold would exceed the 45,000 to 50,000-ounce range.
its shares edged up 8.3pc, or 36.9p, to 483.9p.
Plastic piping firm Polypipe acquired rival Manthorpe Building Products for £52m and shot up 11.7pc, or 36p, to 343.8p.
Both make products such as ventilation components and piping for the housing and infrastructure sectors, and believe they can reduce costs by combining.
On London’s junior market, manufacturing company Redhall, which has made blast-proof doors for the Ministry of Defence, slumped 6.6pc, or 0.3p, to 4.25p.
its chief executive officer Wayne Pearson has left with immediate effect, after only eight months, the company said, as it ushered in former Rolls- Royce vicepresident Russ Haworth as a temporary replacement.