Losses have jumped to $7.88 million coming from $4.64 million in the March quarter

Caribbean Assurance Brokers is feeling the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as its losses have been growing.

For the March quarter, the insurance brokerage firm reported total comprehensive loss amounting to $7.88 million, up from the total comprehensive loss of $4.64 million booked for the same period in 2020. Operating loss for the quarter under review came in at $5.95 million, relative to an operating loss of $2.36 million for comparable quarter in 2020.

Finance cost increased 11 per cent to total $1.48 million, up from the 2020 posting of $1.34 million. Consequently, loss before taxation amounted to $7.43 million compared to a loss of $3.70 million in 2020.

After incurring tax charges of $448,752, net loss amounted to $7.88 million, compared to a net loss of $4.64 million in the prior corresponding period.

Revenue increased during the quarter

Caribbean Assurance Brokers reported a slight increase in revenue during the quarter, which went up to $75.08 million compared to the $70.10 million booked for the corresponding period in the prior year.

The company in its quarterly report to shareholders remarked that, “this increase was attributed to increase in our International Division ($3.7 million), Employee Benefit Division ($1.2 million) and General Insurance Division ($2.2 million).”

However, the Individual Life Division declined by $2.2 million during the quarter. Other operating income totalled $12.26 million, down from the $12.42 million posted for 2020.

As such, total operating income amounted to $87.34 million for the quarter, a slight increase from the 2020 posting of $82.51 million for the twelve month earlier period. According to management, this increase is as a result of, “three out of our four divisions had growth in commission while one division had a decline in commission over the previous quarter.”

10% jump in operating expenses

Total operating expenses totalled $93.29 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, representing an increase of 10 per cent on the $84.88 million recorded in the prior year. Of this amount, administrative expenses totalled $63.30 million, which is 13 per cent higher when compared to the $55.85 million in the same quarter of 2020.

Selling expenses recorded an increase of three per cent during the quarter, which ended the period at $29.99 million coming from $29.02 million the year before. Caribbean Assurance Brokers explained that the increase in operating expenses is due to, “the strategic decision to increase our revenue generating capacity, this is starting to bear fruits as we have seen year over year growth in three of four business lines”.

Loss per share (LPS) closed the period at $0.03 relative to a LPS of $0.02 the prior year. As at March 31, 2021, the company’s assets totalled $573.68 million, which is 11 per cent more than its value as at March 31, 2020.

This was due to a 23 per cent increase in Receivables, which amounted to $141.42 million coming from $115.29 million in 2020. Property, plant and equipment and Rights of use also increased to close at $252.92 million and $19.90 million, respectively.