SINGAPORE - United Overseas Insurance (UOI), the general insurance arm of UOB, announced a profit before tax of $8 million for the three months ended March 31, a 67 per cent increase from the $4.8 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

In a financial highlight released on April 23, UOI noted that the increase in profit was a result of better insurance service and favourable market conditions driving higher investment returns.

It reported an insurance revenue of $23.7 million for the first quarter of 2024, a 6 per cent increase from the insurance revenue of $22.4 million recorded in the year-ago period. The rise was attributed to the increase in revenue to business growth with its parent bank and intermediaries.

Its other income rose to $4.2 million from $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2023 due to higher dividend and interest income, as well as mark to market gains from investments, the group added.

On the back of revenue growth across various business lines, the group’s net insurance financial results – a measure of profitability of its insurance businesses – surged by 46 per cent to $3.8 million from $2.6 million.

No detailed breakdown of the net insurance financial results or information on net profits was provided.

The group noted that its shareholders’ equity, as at March 31, has grown by 4.9 per cent to $444.9 million from the $424.3 million recorded at the end of the first quarter of 2023. Return on average shareholders’ equity stood at 6.2 per cent as at the end of the first quarter of 2024, 2.5 percentage points higher than the 3.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2023.

Total assets as at March 31 have grown to $589.5 million, a 2.2 per cent increase from $576.8 million at the end of the first quarter of 2023, while return on average total assets increased to 4.6 per cent from 2.7 per cent, the group noted.

Before the announcement, shares of UOI closed at $6.05 on April 23, up $0.04 or 0.67 per cent. THE BUSINESS TIMES