Johannesburg - Zurich SA, a subsidiary of the Swiss-based Zurich International, will swing back from a loss to a small profit in the first half of the year.
The JSE-listed company told shareholders this morning it expects to report a R100 000 after tax profit in the six months to June.
This compares to a net loss of R40 million a year ago, at which times it passed on declaring an interim dividend to instead focus on “its strategy of investing in turnaround and profitability initiatives”.
JSE rules require companies to alert shareholders as soon as they are aware that results will differ from the previous corresponding period by 20% or more.
Zurich says earnings per share should come in at 1c, compared to the 329c loss from last year, which represents a 100% improvement.
It adds the headline loss per share, a metric seen as key in determining a company’s operational performance, will come in at 4c compared to 620c in the previous interim period.
Zurich attributes the expected improvement for the 6-month interim period to continued progress made towards its turnaround strategy, which it initiated at the end of 2013 and to the positive influence of this strategy on the attritional loss ratio.
Zurich South Africa is a short-term insurance company and is headquartered in Johannesburg. It has a network of sales and service outlets across the country and employs about 800 people. In addition, Zurich has a subsidiary insurance company in Botswana.
Zurich South Africa is a subsidiary of the Swiss-based Zurich Insurance Group, which employs about 55 000 people and serves customers in more than 170 countries.
The local unit can trace its history as far as the 1800s, to a policy sold to a ‘J Polkinghorne’ in 1849 by Zurich South Africa’s ancestor company, Star Life.
Its interim results should be released on 28 August 2015.
IOL