QBE Insurance shares slide despite half-year profit leap
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The news: QBE shares dropped in morning trade even after the insurance giant reported 27% year-on-year growth in first-half net profit after tax, exceeding Visible Alpha consensus forecasts.
Shares were down 5.3% to $22.22 at 11:30am AEST, having returned 36% over the last 12 months.
QBE reports 27% jump in first-half profit, hikes interim dividend
The news: Insurance giant QBE has reported first-half net profit after tax of USD1.02 billion ($1.56 billion), up 27.4% from USD802 million in the prior corresponding period.
The numbers: The group declared an interim dividend of 31 US cents per share, up from last year's payout of 24 US cents.
Analysts had forecast first-half net profit after tax of USD862.4 million and an interim dividend of 21 US cents, according to Visible Alpha data.
QBE reported gross written premium (GWP) growth of 6% year on year to USD13.82 billion. The company saw total investment income of USD788 million, delivering a return of 2.4% over the six-month period.
The context: Group chief executive Andrew Horton said the company remains on track to meet its full-year targets. This includes GWP growth in the "mid-single" digits.
The source: ASX
