Malta-based insurance firm MAPFRE Middlesea Group recorded a pre-tax profit of €11.76 million in the opening half of 2022, a steady increase of 7.1 per cent from the €10.98 million registered in the same period in 2021, it announced on Thursday. From that €11.76 million, €5.17 million are attributable to shareholders.

The increase in profit was mainly a result of a 29.8 per cent drop in administration expenses, as well as a reversal of impairment on group undertaking amounting to €0.54 million.

General business gross premium written increased by 8.57 per cent from €41.34 million to €44.89 million as of 30th June 2022. On the other hand, the group registered a downward movement of 9.89 per cent to €151.75 million in long term gross premium written compared to the same period last year.

The group’s gross technical provisions at 30th June 2022 sharply dropped by 12.1 per cent to €2.23 billion compared to the €2.53 billion in reserves at 31st December 2021. As a result, MAPFRE Middlesea’s total assets retracted by 11 per cent, totalling €2.52 billion, while total liabilities also reduced by €304.87 million to reach €2.30 billion.

Total equity attributable to shareholders amounted to €108.47 million in the half of 2022, down from €111.04 million registered at 31st December 2021. This comes after MAPFRE Middlesea plc paid a €2.4 million dividend for financial year 2021, and the reduction in value of in-force business outweighing the results for the half year. Net asset value per share stood at €1.18 on June 2022.

Despite these positive results, MAPFRE Middlesea moves to the second half of the year with “cautious optimism,” especially in “an environment wary of the evolving effects of the Ukraine war, inflation, and challenging investment backdrop”.

The group’s board and management remains focused on its strategic actions to meet its set key performance indicators and increase shareholders’ returns, while also “improving operational efficiency and client satisfaction in line with its mission of being the most trusted insurer”.

Established in 1981 as the first insurance company transacting general business in Malta, MAPFRE Middlesea is a subsidiary of Spanish multinational insurance company MAPFRE.