Lancashire Holdings hit by Costa Concordia loss

25th Jul 2013 13:43

British insurer Lancashire Holdings reported a fall in pre-tax profit for the three month to end of June as investment returns declined. The company posted a pre-tax profit of $58.3m, compared to $60.6m last year, blaming bigger payouts related to the Costa Concordia shipwreck and receding investment returns. Lancashire revised upwards by $24.6m its exposure to the Costa Concordia, the cruise liner that sank off the Italian coast in January, taking its total estimated hit from the shipwreck to $58.7m.The increase in the Costa Concordia loss was due mainly to a $20m payout on an industry loss warranty."We were naturally disappointed at the deterioration in the Costa Concordia loss and will continue to monitor the situation closely," said Chief Executive, Richard Brindle. Gross premiums dropped to $209m from $280.80m while net premiums fell to $189.1m from $233.5m. Diluted earnings per share dipped to $0.30 from $0.32. Total investment came in at a loss of 0.6% compared to a return of 0.6% last year.RD