Solid Personal figures

22nd Mar 2010 10:02

Employee benefits provider Personal Group Holdings produced a solid set of results although this is masked by goodwill write-offs and lower investment income. Underlying profit declined from £8.66m to £8.52m on slightly lower revenues of £26.4m (£26.8m). Investment income slumped from £508,000 to £238,000 due to lower interest rates. The core hospital plan business traded strongly. Gross written premiums were 7% higher at £17.6m. There was an increase in the claims ratio early in 2009 but that was mainly due to changes in terms. The claims ratio has fallen back to more normal levels. Personal is building up sales of the Voluntary Group Income Protection product launched with Unum Provident. A second version of the product has been launched with BUPA and the first income from this will be generated this year. A £3m write-off was made against the acquisition goodwill of IFA Berkeley Morgan, following a £3.43m write-off in 2008. Berkeley Morgan's web-based insurance offering Rapidinsure is having its margins squeezed and business has fallen substantially at private medical insurance provider Universal Provident. Overall, Berkeley Morgan made a £900,000 profit contribution in 2009, compared with an underlying £1.05m in 2008. There is still £3m of goodwill on the balance sheet. An 8.5p a share dividend has already been paid this month. This is the first two quarterly dividends paid in one go prior to the end of the tax year in order to beat the income tax rise. The total dividend for 2009 should be 17p a share. The cash generated from operations more than covers the dividend. That provides a yield of 5.7% at a share price of 300p. The next quarterly dividend is in September. Panmure Gordon forecasts a rise in profit to £9.29m in 2010.