Financial services group FBD said today it had maintained trading momentum in the year to date and was comfortable with market expectations for full-year operating earnings.
It said pretax profit would benefit substantially from the recent sale of land in Spain but a decline in capital markets had had a negative effect on investment returns, and consequently on pretax profit.
The group added in a trading statement it was on course to achieve its operating profit target for the six months to June 30th.
"Our Insurance Underwriting performance is somewhat ahead of budget," FBD said. "Policy growth has continued to be strong and premium income levels are budget positive. Claims and other costs are running at anticipated levels."
"As regards income from other activities, our Property, Hotel, Leisure and Financial Services businesses are performing to expectations. The downturn in capital markets in recent times has impacted adversely on returns from our capital fund."
The group's half-year results are scheduled to be announced on September 6th.