Insurance Australia Group Reports Strong Yearly Results

Insurance Australia Group (IAG) has announced a significant increase in its annual net profit, prompting the company to raise its dividend. The general insurer reported a net profit of AUD 832 million for the 12 months ending June, compared to AUD 347 million the previous year.

According to IAG’s Chief Executive Nick Hawkins, this impressive result was achieved by implementing strategic changes in 2021, which involved streamlining the business’s operations and emphasizing its core activities.

In addition to the substantial increase in net profit, IAG also experienced a 10.6% growth in gross written premium for the 2023 fiscal year, reaching AUD 14.72 billion. This exceeded the company’s earlier guidance of approximately 10% growth.

While the underlying insurance margin for FY 2023 was slightly lower at 12.6% compared to the previous year’s 14.6%, this was primarily due to short-tail claims inflation, explained IAG.

Despite these factors, IAG’s directors have declared a final dividend of 9.0 Australian cents per share, marking an increase from the 5.0 Australian cents per share dividend declared in the previous year.

Looking ahead to the 2024 fiscal year, IAG forecasts a low double-digit growth in gross written premium, accompanied by a reported insurance margin ranging between 13.5% and 15.5%.

These positive results reflect IAG’s commitment to delivering strong financial performance while focusing on core business operations.