Australia’s QBE beats profit estimates, maintains annual outlook

Business Recorder reported that Australia's QBE Insurance topped first-half profit estimates and kept its full-year guidance intact on Friday. Higher premium income and lower catastrophe costs more than absorbed the claims tied to the Middle East conflict. The result stood out in an uneven Australian insurance reporting season, where rival IAG posted full-year cash earnings below forecasts while Suncorp came in slightly above expectations.

Gross written premium rose 6 per cent on a constant-currency basis during the half, driven by focused expansion in overseas markets and North America. The company, active across 27 nations among them the United States, put its claims from the regional conflict at about USD75 million, a figure it said was below its own expectations. Net catastrophe claims fell from USD479 million the previous year to USD445 million, comfortably beneath the USD517 million first-half allowance.

Adjusted net profit after tax reached USD1,033 million in the six months to June 30, compared with USD997 million a year earlier, narrowly topping VA's projection of USD1.02 billion. The insurer declared an interim payout worth 33 Australian cents for every share, up from 31 cents last year. Guidance is unchanged, with constant-currency premium growth in a mid-single-digit percentage range and a combined operating ratio near 92.5 per cent, where a reading under 100 per cent indicates premiums outweighed claims and costs.