FBD Insurance reported a 30 per cent rise in operating profits this morning and urged the Governmnet to stick to its promises of reforming the insurance market.
Group operating profit increased to €162.6 million in 2005 compared to €124.8 million in 2004.
Total income amounted to €404.5m of which €332 million was from premiums. Investment income amounted to of €44 million and €41million came from the group's underwriting business with the balance generated from non underwriting activities.
FBD's chief executive Philip Fitzsimons said 2005 was "another excellent year for FBD. Operating profit grew strongly and net assets increased significantly.
"Our insurance results underpinned this performance. New business volumes were strong and more than offset reductions in premiums that were implemented during the year. The claims charge was broadly in line with the previous year and reflected the improvement in overall claims costs that has occurred in recent years."
FBD's property and leisure interests, which include the La Cala and Sunset Beach resorts in Spain and the Tower Hotel Group in Ireland, contributed €13.6 million to operating profits.
But property sales at La Cala were behind target reflecting the general slowdown in second-home sales in Costa del Sol in 2005.
On the leisure side, FBD described trading in Spain and in Ireland as "challenging", with an oversupply of product squeezing margins.
FBD said that competition in the Irish insurance market is lowering profit margins on underwriting driving them towards European norms.
FBD said the critical factors that will bring the irish market into line with the rest of Europe are the speed of implementation of the the remaining reforms which the Government has pledged to undertake and further ompetition.
"FBD will remain supportive of the Government's efforts to deliver the outstanding structural reform measures. Meanwhile, the Group will continue to pursue its own claims cost savings plans and will work to achieve cost efficiencies across its insurance operations in general," FBD said.