Hester says RSA recovery is on track but premiums dip by £1bn
Insurance firm RSA saw its shares decline by almost five per cent yesterday as it reported premiums of £5.68bn for the first nine months of 2014, down nine per cent from £6.74bn last year.
The company said profit for the third quarter was “strong”, due to £198m gains from its disposals of Noraxis and its business in Poland.
Stephen Hester, RSA’s group chief executive, said the disposals had further strengthened the firm’s capital position and that a £400m subordinated bond issue in October had underlined RSA’s credit improvement. He added: “The building blocks to support RSA’s recovery are coming together.”
RSA uncovered a series of financial issues in its Irish business in November last year, resulting in several senior members of staff leaving the company. RSA said its remediation work in Ireland was progressing. “We continue to target a return to profitability in Ireland by the end of 2015,” it said.