FWD Group, a regional insurer founded by Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li Tzar-kai, said its first-half net profit jumped 15 times on strong sales growth and one-off cost reductions.
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In the first results since FWD’s HK$3.61 billion (US$466 million) initial public offering (IPO) in July, net profit soared to US$47 million from US$3 million a year earlier, the company said on Friday. The insurer said it would not pay an interim dividend.
Driving the profit increase, annualised premiums from new sales of life policies rose 38 per cent to US$1.25 billion, while expenses fell by US$65 million from a year earlier, when the company incurred costs related to its IPO and changing accounting standards.
Excluding these non-recurring items and valuation changes, operating profit after taxes rose 9 per cent to US$251 million. The company’s shares added 3.2 per cent to HK$44.04 on Friday, and have risen 16 per cent since their trading debut on July 7.
Sales doubled to US$640 million in the first half in Hong Kong and Macau, which represented half of FWD’s business.
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“In our hometown and headquarters of Hong Kong, FWD has seen strong growth of sales from both locals and mainland Chinese visitors,” said Huynh Thanh Phong, Group CEO, in a briefing. “Hong Kong is growing its role as a global wealth-management hub.”
FWD, which operates in 10 Asian markets, has 6,900 employees, 55,100 agents and more than 34 million customers.