(Adds further details, background)
Feb 17 (Reuters) - Australia's QBE Insurance Group on Friday
posted a 5.2% rise in annual profit, as aggressive interest rates hikes boosted
the company's gross written premiums, offsetting a hit from elevated catastrophe
costs.
The country's biggest insurer by market cap said it expects premium rate
increases to continue, targeting a mid-to-high single digits growth in fiscal
2023.
QBE's statutory gross written premiums grew 8.4% to $20 billion in fiscal
2022, on the back of increased cash rates and owing to strong growth across all
divisions, it said.
However, its catastrophe claims ratio rose 7.2% of the net earned
premium to $1.06 billion as claims surged due to heavy flooding in several parts
of Australia and New Zealand.
The insurer said its combined operating ratio (COR)- a measure of net
claims, commissions and expenses as a percentage of net earned premium -
improved on prior year.
For year 2023, the group is targeting a COR of about 93.5%, compared to
the 93.7% recorded in 2022.
Adjusted net cash profit after tax rose to $847 million for the year ended
Dec. 31, 2022, compared with $805 million a year earlier and a Refinitiv
estimate of $668.5 million.
The company also declared a final dividend of 30 Australian cents per share.
(Reporting by Nausheen Thusoo and Echha Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini
Ganguli and Shailesh Kuber)
