OUTsurance sees premium growth

Insurer OUTsurance expects a strong performance from its business in SA and the Australian insurer Youi, in which it owns a majority stake, as both saw higher premiums growth and fewer natural disasters Down Under.

Insurer OUTsurance expects a strong performance from its business in SA and the Australian insurer Youi, in which it owns a majority stake, as both saw higher premiums growth and fewer natural disasters Down Under.

This comes after big changes in the company earnings base since it sold its 30% stake in the UK insurer Hastings in 2021 and unbundled its interest in Discovery and Momentum Metropolitan in April 2022.

As a result, the company which is valued at R52.19bn on the JSE expects that its earnings per share will drop more than 70% year on year, because of nonrecurring items, such as its R4.7bn profit on the sale of Hastings.

However, an increase of more than 20% is expected when stripping out these one-off items, with a further trading statement expected.

OUTsurance took over the listing of its former parent Rand Merchant Investment Holdings (RMI), the investment holding company which has rebranded, in December on the JSE.

The collapse of the RMI holding company structure has been in the making since at least 2021, when the company announced the unbundling of its stakes in Discovery and Momentum Metropolitan.

The unbundling was also designed to address the gaping discount between the holding company’s JSE-listed market value and that of its underlying assets.

RMI’s phased collapse, and the associated reduction in personnel costs, will continue until March.

OUTsurance is expecting to announce its results for the six months to end-December on March 22.