Lloyd’s of London insurer Beazley more than doubled its profit in the first half of 2024 as it continued to break records and improved its outlook for a key measure of profitability for the full year.
The FTSE 100 firm posted a record profit before tax of $728.9m (£573.9m) for the six months to 30th June, up from $366.4m (£288.5m) during the same period last year. Its annualised return on equity surged 10 percentage points to 28 per cent.
Beazley had already notched a record annual profit in 2023 when earnings more than doubled from the previous year.
The value of premiums written grew to $3.12bn (£2.46bn), up from £2.92bn (£2.3bn) a year before.
Beazley’s undiscounted combined ratio – a measure of premiums booked minus total costs and claims – came in at 81 per cent for the first half of this year, compared to 88 per cent in 2023.
A ratio of below 100 per cent indicates underwriting profitability, while anything above 100 per cent indicates losses from underwriting.
The company has improved its undiscounted combined ratio guidance for the full year to around 80 per cent.
Beazley confirmed in May that it would launch a share buyback of up to $325m (£256m), which it said on Thursday was on track to be completed by the end of the year.
The firm’s share price has gained 21 per cent in the year to date, making it one of the FTSE 100’s best performing stocks.
“Expertise in underwriting and active risk selection are key drivers of this strong result, even as the rating environment is moderating,” Adrian Cox, Beazley’s chief executive, said on Thursday.
He noted that when faced with the massive worldwide IT outage last month, caused by a faulty software update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, Beazley’s “approach to underwriting cyber risk was tested and proved to be highly resilient”.
“We see opportunities in the remainder of the year and are confident in delivering on our high single digit growth guidance,” Cox added.