Al Alamiya performs well in 2018, despite 9M profit decline, says CFO

Al Alamiya Cooperative Insurance Co. has recorded a robust performance in 2018, despite posting a 24 percent profit decline in the first nine months of the year, CNBC Arabia has reported, citing Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Fadi Aboul Hosn.

“This profit decline was driven by the industry slowdown, and the increase in the insurers’ incurred claims,” Aboul Hosn explained.

Al Alamiya set aside SAR 6 million in provisions in the nine-month period, which is lower if compared to the previous year.

“These provisions shouldn’t necessarily be written off; however, the insurer will work on writing them back, which will likely bolster its financial statements,” he added.

Allowing women to drive in Saudi Arabia helped increase the insurer’s sales, and may reflect positively on the whole industry, he noted.

“Al Alamiya invests around SAR 500 million in the Saudi market, partly as fixed deposits at Riyad Bank. The return on these bank deposits stood at 3 percent,” Aboul Hosn stated.

The Saudi insurer reported a profit decline of 11 percent year-on-year (YoY) to SAR 7.86 million in Q3 2018.