Insurance group Argus yesterday announced an $8.2 million profit for the six months to the end of September.

The figure is up $5.2 million on the $3 million recorded for the same period last year.

Alison Hill, CEO of Argus, said: “Our culture is to do the right thing on behalf of our people, customers and shareholders.

“We believe by doing this, we can create long-term sustainable value for all. This philosophy has resulted in a positive impact on our earnings.”

Ms Hill added that the firm had reduced income volatility in its investment profile, which resulted in investment income for the period of $14 million.

She explained that shifts in equity and bond markets had resulted in unrealised gains of $7.9 million, compared to market movements in the same six months of 2015 which created unrealised losses of $11.8 million.

The company also reduced its holdings in Bermuda equities by 35 per cent, in line with its bid to reduce concentration risk in investments.

The sale of Bermuda equities had a one-off positive impact of $3.1 million for the period.

Ms Hill said: “We delivered our new pension fund offering and promised to reduce fees in order to enhance pension member savings.

“We put our money where our mouth is which, in the short term, has led to the $1.7 million decline in combined fee income.”

But she added: “By doing the right thing by our pension members, we will enhance long-term profitability.”

Net benefits and claims experienced an increase of $7.5 million over the reporting period, attributed to to “health claims returning to a more normal level after the unusually low claims incurred in the six months of the prior year”.

That, with a decrease in net premiums earned of $2.4 million, resulted in the combined operating ratio, a measure of the underwriting performance for general health and insurance business, weakening to 89.5 per cent compared to 82.8 per cent for the same period last year. The company said this trend validated its commitment to preventive schemes like the population health and thrive drive.

Ms Hill said: “In addition to our population health and pension fund initiatives, significant investment is being made to progress our strategic goals, including building our global digital channel capability and diversification of our business outside of Bermuda.”

She added that the acquisition of Island Insurance Brokers Ltd, a Maltese broker, would give the group a springboard for further expansion in Europe.

Total assets, including segregated fund assets, stood at $2.2 billion at September end, with shareholders equity attributable to shareholders at $133.1 million, well above the regulatory threshold for capital required to conduct insurance and financial services in Argus markets.

The company declared a 9 cents per share dividend, payable on January 24 next for shareholders of record on January 10. That represents a final dividend of 18 cents per share based on audited accounts for the year ended in March.