Helios Underwriting PLC on Thursday said it swung to a profit in the first half of 2023, as revenue increased, while it added it expects its portfolio to ‘thrive’.

In the six months that ended June 30, pretax profit for the investment vehicle, which provides shareholders with participation in the Lloyd’s insurance market, totalled £6.3 million, swinging from a loss of £2.8 million a year earlier.

Helios Underwriting said its net tangible asset value per share stood at £1.54 on June 30, up from £1.52 on December 31.

Revenue rose 69% to £93.7 million from £55.3 million a year earlier. Gross premiums written rose 28% to £158.5 million from £124.1 million.

Looking ahead, Chief Executive Officer Martin Reith said continually improving market conditions ‘presents exciting opportunities’ for Helios Underwriting.

‘The portfolio is positioned to benefit from pricing and market discipline and underwriting profits are now being recognised from five years of improved underwriting margins. We are confident that given market discipline, we should continue to see favourable returns across our portfolio. The resilience of these conditions seem to be more sustainable and we fully expect our portfolio to thrive,’ said Reith.

‘The results are a little skewed as a consequence of the recent rapid 33% growth in our retained capacity in 2023 and a cautious approach to reserving adopted within our portfolio. With the passage of time and as the better loss ratio premium earns through, we are confident that our portfolio will demonstrate outperformance against a prudent reserving strategy. The impact of the increased yields on the group investments will make a contribution in the future.’

Shares in Helios Underwriting were up 7.2% to 126.00 pence each in London on Thursday morning.

Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.