Lancashire Holdings lifts FY ROE guidance after 'resilient' H1

(Sharecast News) - Lancashire Holdings lifted its guidance for full-year return on equity on Wednesday as it hailed a "resilient" first half. In the six months to 30 June, pre-tax profit fell to $118.6m from $213.6m in the same period a year earlier, coming in ahead of a Bloomberg estimate of $113.3. Profit after tax declined to $109.2m from $200.8m.

Gross premiums written rose 5.8% year-on-year to $1.4bn, with insurance revenue up 8.9% to $930.1m.

Assuming a similar second-half loss environment to 2024, Lancashire said it now expects 2025 return on equity to be high teens, up from previous guidance of mid-teens.

Chief executive Alex Maloney said: "Lancashire's performance for the first six months of the year clearly demonstrates the increased resilience within our business model.

"Our strategy to grow at the right time in the cycle means we are better positioned, across various classes and geographies, than ever before. We have developed a robust, diversified and capital-efficient underwriting portfolio that can absorb the impact of significant industry loss events whilst delivering more predictable returns.

"The impact of the wildfires in California in January has been felt across the sector. Estimated industry insured losses are around $40 billion, making it one of the costliest wildfire disasters ever recorded.

"In this context, our strong profit after tax of $109.2m and healthy discounted combined ratio for the period of 87.4% (undiscounted of 97.8%) shows our ability to deliver attractive returns even in a challenging loss environment."