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JSE-listed financial services group OUTsurance said on Wednesday that earnings for its year to end June could climb 45%, with the profits in its Australian operation more than tripling as it bounces back from earthquakes, floods and hail in the previous year.
Group normalised earnings are expected to rise between 35% and 45% from the prior year's roughly R2.3 billion, the company said in an update. Its short-term SA operations could rise as much as 10%, while its Australian business, Youi, could see a surge of as much as 250%. The company said headline earnings per share are expected to be between 5% and 15%.
The company didn't go into much detail about the SA operating environment in its update, but said Youi saw strong premium growth, a material decrease in natural perils claims incurred following more favourable weather exposure and higher income attributable to a rise in interest rates.
OUTsurance, valued at almost R60 billion on the JSE, generated more than half of its gross written premiums from Youi in 2022, which provides car, home, business and compulsory-third party insurance.
In the 2021 calendar year, the company's claims were pushed up by "various" flood and hail events, while in September, the south of the country was hit by a magnitude-5.9 earthquake, the largest ever recorded in Victoria.
In SA, OUTsurance offers car, home, business, life, funeral and pet insurance, as well as investment services. The Centurion-based insurer listed on the JSE in December, swapping places with its parent company, Rand Merchant Investment Holdings (RMI).
READ | OUTsurance officially joins the JSE
Shares in OUTsurance were down 1.6% in early trade on Wednesday but are still up more than a fifth for the year to date. Click here for details of its shares and other info.
