Gross premium grew 27 percent at Iron Rock for the first nine months of 2020, from $475 million to $603 million and 16 percent for the third quarter, from $156 million to $181 million, but net premium declined 28 percent for the quarter and 20 percent for the nine months to September.
Iron Rock hits 52 weeks’ high of $4.07 on Friday.
Net premium income dropped from $155 million to $124 million in 2019 and $47 million to $34 million for the third quarter. The current year’s operation is characterized by mixed fortunes in varying areas, resulting in the company recording a net profit of $4.6 million for the September quarter against $1.6 million in the third quarter of 2019. The company did not fare well for the year-to-date, with a loss of $13 million, 36 percent higher than the loss of $9.6 million for the same period in 2019.
Investment income and foreign exchange gains contributed significantly to the 2020 performance as they negated underwriting losses that fell 38 percent for the quarter to $19 million from $30 million. Other income dropped 27 percent for the quarter to $23 million and 12 percent for the year to date at $51 million. For the three months to September, a five percent decline in investment income to $9.6 million along with a 66 percent drop in gains from the sale of investment for the quarter to $6.6 million contributed to the decline in other income for the quarter.
A 10 percent rise in investment income pushed earnings for the nine months to $31 million. Investments gains fell 67 percent for the nine months, from $25 million in 2019 to $8 million. The above declines were offset by a 217 percent rise in foreign exchange gains, from $5 million to $12 million, helped to cushion the negative performance of other income category and resulted in the overall loss in the period increasing year over year.
A 46 percent increase in commission earned pushed revenues in this category to $29 million on the latest quarter from the year-ago period with $20 million with a jump of 48 percent for the year to September to $75 million from $51 million. Commission paid grew 14 percent to $24 million from $21 million in the third quarter and rose 25 percent to $68 million for the nine months.
Underwriting loss came in at $64 million, 5 percent better, for the nine months to September compared to a loss of $68 million for the first nine months of 2019. Underwriting loss for the quarter improved markedly from $30 million to $19 million primarily due to a sharp fall in claims and a big improvement in commission earned.
Operating expenses for the quarter rose just two percent to $43 million, with a 15 percent increase for the nine months from $119 million to $137 million. The profit results generated earnings per share of 2 cents for the quarter and a loss of 6 cents for the nine months. The stock last traded at $2.80 on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
Net cash used in operating activities amounted to $40 million. Company assets stood at $1.4 billion, including cash and equivalents of just $40 million, various investments of $693 million, insurance and other receivables of $152 million and reinsurance assets of $383 million. Total liabilities stood at $861 million, comprising mostly insurance claims provisions and other amounts payable. Shareholders’ equity declined to $495 million, at the end of the period, from $540 million in the same period in 2019.
