Kurnia Group
Kurnia Asia Berhad Recorded Satisfactory Third Quarter Performance
May 17th, 2005
Petaling Jaya, 17 May 2005 - Kurnia Asia Berhad (KAB) announced its unaudited
financial results for the third-quarter ended 31 March 2005 at its Corporate
Head Office, Menara Kurnia. KAB, which wholly owns Kurnia Insurans (M) Berhad
(KIMB), is the largest general insurer listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia
under the counter KURASIA 5097.
Kurnia Asia Berhad posted another satisfying performance with profit after
tax of RM 25.5 million in the third quarter (Q3) 2004/05 compared with RM 16.7
million post-acquisition profit reported in the preceding quarter. In terms
of pre-tax profit, the Group recorded RM 42.2 million in Q3 2004/05 compared
with RM 27.3 million post-acquisition in the second quarter (Q2) 2004/05. As
a result of the continuing healthy financial performance, the Group's total
assets expanded from RM 1.78 billion as at 31 December 2004 to RM 1.85 billion
as at 31 March 2005.
The Group's financial results were mainly derived from KIMB, the Group's principal
subsidiary. The comparison is made against the 3-month results in the preceding
quarter (October 2004 to December 2004) notwithstanding the fact that KIMB
was not part of the Group until the completion of acquisition on 5 November
2004.
Against the challenging and competitive environment in the general insurance
industry, KIMB achieved gross premiums of RM 893 million during the 9-month
period up to 31 March 2005. This performance showed that KIMB is on track to
achieve the forecasted annual gross premiums of RM 1.155 billion by 30 June
2005. Comparing quarter to quarter, gross premiums grew 16% from RM 283 million
in Q2 2004/05 to RM 328 million in Q3 2004/05. KIMB recorded a 9-month pre-tax
profit of RM 138 million ended 31 March 2005. Underwriting and investment activities
accounted for 63% and 37% of pre-tax profit respectively.
"Moving forward, the Directors believe the Group's performance will further
improve in the final quarter of financial year 2005, in view of the various
control measures in the areas of marketing, claims, management expenses and
investment put in place to further strengthen the operations," commented Dato'
Adrian Loh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) /Managing Director (MD) of Kurnia
Asia Berhad.
"Kurnia's status as a listed company will give us the leverage to further
expand our business and strengthen our brand name. We are poised to grow our
market share in both the motor and non-motor sectors. The recent additions
to the product line-up, notably the innovative medical insurance, MediGuard
and MediGuard Express, have been well-received since their launch in December
last year. We will continue to develop more innovative products and services
to meet customers' needs. We are confident that the various initiatives put
in place will bear fruits in the coming years," Dato' Adrian Loh added.
Kurnia Asia Berhad will be included in Morgan Stanley Capital International
Inc. (MSCI) beginning 1 June 2005. This influential global stock benchmark
will make Kurnia Asia more visible to the foreign investors.
The Kurnia Group is the largest general insurer in Malaysia and South East
Asia with gross premiums exceeding RM 1 billion. The Group has wide network
of 30 branches, 1,900 employees, 7,800-strong agency force and 3 million policyholders.
It is the fastest-growing general insurer offering a wide range of general
insurance products and innovative services such as Kurnia Auto Assist and Kurnia
Express.