May 11, 2015

The Chairman of the Board, Mr. Murad Ali Murad, announced that net profit for the first quarter ending 31 March 2015 was BD 627,000 as compared to BD 1.9 m for the same period last year. Last year profits included BD 1.5 m being non-recurring and one time gain on sale of investment property. Technical profits for 1st Quarter 2015 were BD 352,000 as compared to BD 570,000 for the corresponding period last year. The reduction in technical profits was due to several factors. The most important was the increase in loss ratio in Fire and General Accident department. Apart from this, there were additional expenses towards hit and run cases for motor accidents and the decline in exchange rate of KWD against BHD. The net investment income was BD 591,000 for 1st  Quarter 2015 compared to BD 1.6 m in the same period  last year which included an extra ordinary income of BD 1.5 m on account of gain on sale of investment property.

 Mr. Ebrahim Al Rayes, the CEO said that in spite of the decrease in technical profits, the results are satisfactory given the present situation of severe competition in the region and lack of new projects. Premium rates are under pressure due to the competition with no increase in new business. There is also delay in releasing the budget for 2015-2016 by the Government which is also one of the reasons for delay in commencement of new projects. Gross premium in BHD decreased by 2.4% mainly due to weakening of KWD. We hope that the performance will improve in the coming periods.