Hampden Underwriting delays divi after 'frustrating year'

23rd May 2011 15:08

Profits and net earned premiums at Hampden Underwriting declined after what its chairman called a "frustrating year", and because of a tough start to the current year, the board decided not to pay a dividend.The group, which provides investors with a limited liability direct investment into the Lloyd's insurance market, said it had hoped to herald the payment of its first dividend. However, due to the first quarter of 2011 expected to be the worst in history for catastrophe losses (because of the severity of the events in New Zealand, Australia and Japan), "it would be imprudent to pay a dividend now.""It was not a decision taken lightly and, as and when the market gets a better feel for the likely impact of these catastrophic events, it is certainly one that we will revisit," said chairman Michael Oliver.For the year ended 31 December, net earned premiums fell from £6.97m to £6.79m, while operating profit-before tax dropped to just £0.13m, from £0.99m. Earnings per share tumbled from 9.77p to 1.78p."A profit was achieved despite the year having been adversely affected by the widely reported losses emanating from the UK motor market coupled with the Chilean earthquake," Oliver said.---BC