The earnings of most of the listed general insurance companies rose in the first half (H1) of 2019 compared to that of the corresponding period of last year.
According to un-audited financial statements, 26 general insurance companies saw their earnings per share (EPS) rise, out of 35, in January-June 2019, according to statistics available with the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
EPS is the portion of a company's profit allocated to each share. In short, it serves as an indicator of a company's profitability.
Market analysts said most of the non-life insurers' earnings increased as they reduced operational costs and banks' interest rates rose against their deposit amount.
The general insurance companies, whose EPS rose in January-June period, 2019 are: Agrani Insurance, Asia Insurance, Asia Pacific Insurance, City General Insurance, Continental Insurance, Dhaka Insurance, Eastern Insurance, Eastland Insurance, Federal Insurance, Global Insurance, Islamic Insurance, Janata Insurance, Karnaphuli Insurance.
EPS of Nitol Insurance, Paramount Insurance, Pioneer Insurance, Pragati Insurance, Prime Insurance, Provati Insurance, Purabi General Insurance, Reliance Insurance, Republic Insurance, Rupali Insurance, Sonar Bangla Insurance, Standard Insurance and United Insurance also increased during the period under review.
Among the general insurance companies, EPS of Prime Insurance posted the biggest rise of 967 per cent in January-June 2019. The insurer's EPS stood at Tk 0.64 for January-June, 2019 as against Tk 0.06 in the same period of the previous year.
The EPS of Paramount Insurance also rose 148 per cent to Tk 0.87 for January-June, 2019 as against Tk 0.35 for the same period a year ago.
United Insurance's EPS rose 58 per cent to Tk 1.33 in January-June, 2019, up from Tk 0.84 in the same period a year ago.
The City General Insurance's EPS also increased 41 per cent to Tk 0.62 for January-June, 2019 which was Tk 0.44 in the same period of the previous year.
The EPS of Federal Insurance also rose 28 per cent to Tk 0.37 for January-June, 2019 as against Tk 0.29 for the same period a year ago.
The Asia Pacific Insurance's EPS also increased 27 per cent to Tk 1.28 for January-June, 2019 which was Tk 1.01 in the same period of the previous year.
The EPS of Continental Insurance also soared 23 per cent to Tk 1.92 for January-June, 2019 as against Tk 1.56 for the same period a year ago.
The Eastland Insurance's EPS also increased 2.18 per cent to Tk 0.94 for January-June, 2019 which was Tk 0.92 in the same period of the previous year.
On the other hand, EPS of Bangladesh General Insurance, Bangladesh National Insurance, Central Insurance, Green Delta Insurance, Mercantile Insurance, Northern General Insurance, Peoples Insurance, Phoenix Insurance and Takaful Islami Insurance declined in January-June, 2019 compared to the same period a year ago.
Of them, Green Delta Insurance's EPS saw the highest fall of 22 per cent during the period under review. The company's EPS stood at Tk 1.24 for January-June, 2019 which was Tk 1.59 in the same period of the previous year.
The EPS of Mercantile Insurance also plunged 21 per cent to Tk 0.80 for January-June, 2019 which was Tk 1.01 in the same period of the previous year.
The Northern General Insurance's EPS also fell 20 per cent to Tk 1.03 for January-June, 2019 which was Tk 1.28 in January-June, 2018.
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