Industry giants a study in contrasts

Top two insurers Suncorp and IAG are expected to deliver vastly different results when the pair unveil their end-of-year financials this week.

As Suncorp prepares to release a strong rise in net profit – tipped by analysts to be more than double last year’s result – struggling competitor IAG is forecasting a 50 percent reduction in profit once natural catastrophe and UK losses are taken into account.

While storm damages are expected to cut marginally into Suncorp’s insurance profit margin, analysts are predicting an overall net profit after tax between USD 720 million and USD 800 million – more than double last year’s result of USD 348 million.

Suncorp appears to have come a long way from the depths of 2009, when its result was pounded by a USD 710 million impairment charge for bank bad debts and USD 225 million in natural catastrophe losses.

Twelve months later and now it’s IAG wearing the losses. CEO Mike Wilkins announced in August that IAG’s net profit for the full year would be USD 91 million compared to USD 181 million last year – a 50 percent fall as spiralling UK bodily injury claims drain full-year earnings.

Morningstar analyst David Walker told insuranceNEWS.com.au that Suncorp has enjoyed a good run with natural catastrophe claims and should report an insurance profit margin rise to 11.1 percent.

Mr Walker was the most bullish of the analysts spoken to by insuranceNEWS.com.au in predicting a net profit after tax of USD 800 million for Suncorp.

Credit Suisse analyst Arjan van Veen is expecting a headline net profit after tax of USD 791 million and an insurance margin of 9.6 percent.

“The key thing is underlying net profit,” Mr van Veen said. “That result may be poor because of the storms period.”

JP Morgan has forecast Suncorp will lodge a net profit after tax of USD 720.2 million.