Feb 18 (Reuters) – Australian general insurer Suncorp Group posted a worse-than-expected drop in first-half cash earnings on Wednesday, hit by a surge in costs related to multiple severe weather events on the east coast and lower investment income.
The company incurred A$1.32 billion ($935 million) natural hazard expenses in the six months to December, largely due to nine major events across Australia and New Zealand, including severe thunderstorms, coastal lows, windstorms, and floods.
That was far above its A$866 million allowance for the six-month period, and more than double the A$503 million it incurred last year.
Its investment income also slipped 31% to A$259 million.
As a result, the general insurer’s first-half cash earnings sharply fell to A$270 million, missing the Visible Alpha consensus of A$311.2 million by a wide margin, and a steep drop from last year’s A$828 million.
Suncorp, which turned a pure-play general insurer after selling its banking division to ANZ Group in 2024, declared an interim dividend of 17 Australian cents per share, compared with last year’s 41 Australian cents.
($1 = 1.4120 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Sameer Manekar and Nichiket Sunil in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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