Mumbai: Backed by better investment income, a dip in claims and lower forex losses, reinsurer GIC Re on Saturday reported a 20 percent rise in net profit to Rs 2,693.72 crore in 2014-15 from Rs 2252.66 crore a year ago.
While investment income rose around 25 percent to Rs 4,253 crore, net incurred claims came down to Rs 11,891 crore in FY 2015 from Rs 12,107 crore in FY 2014, boosting the bottom line, the company said, adding the forex loss came down to Rs 100 crore against Rs 300 crore in the previous year.
However, its underwriting losses rose by Rs 370 crore to Rs 1,395 crore in FY 2015 against Rs 887 crore in FY 2014.
"The 20 percent rise in net profit was due to the market conditions and better investment income," GIC Re Chairman and Managing Director A K Roy told reporters.
"We didn't have to pay any major claims during the year. Even though the claims from the Hudhud cyclone and the J&K floods will be around Rs 3,000 crore for the industry, for GIC Re the claim loss is not likely to be more than Rs 200 crore," Roy said.
Its forex losses came down drastically to Rs 100 crore in the reporting year from Rs 300 crore in FY14, Roy said.
Gross premium grew 3.4 percent during the reporting year to Rs 15,183 crore from Rs 14,680 crore in FY 2014.
It has chalked out an aggressive growth plan for the current fiscal. "We are looking at 10 percent growth in the domestic premium income this fiscal," he said.
It is also working at increasing its overseas business to 50 percent from 43 percent now, to make its income equally balanced between domestic and overseas businesses.
"Currently, our overseas business stands at 43 percent which we want to make to 50 percent by the end of this fiscal," Roy said.
GIC Re declared a dividend of Rs 540 crore for FY15.
Its assets rose to Rs 78,093 crore in FY 2015 taking its networth to Rs 13,002 crore.
On the formation of the proposed Rs 1,500 crore nuclear insurance pool, Roy said, "we have already received Rs 900 crore and are waiting for the balance amount to come to kick it off."
GIC Re has collected premium of Rs 157 crore from life insurance companies in FY15 from Rs 125 crore in FY14 registering a growth of 26 percent. "We have formed a separate team for increasing our business coming from life insurance and hence we do expect to increase our business this fiscal."
On GIC Re's plan for the international financial services centre in Gujarat, he said GIC Re will be setting up a full scale unit at the IFSC to carry out dollar-denominated business.
