Insurer OUTsurance expects a strong performance from its business in SA and the Australian insurer Youi, in which it owns a majority stake, as both saw higher premiums growth and fewer natural disasters Down Under.
This comes as the earnings base of the company has undergone big changes since selling its 30% stake in the UK insurer Hastings in 2021 and unbundling its interest in Discovery and Momentum Metropolitan in April 2022.
As a result, the company, valued at R52.19bn on the JSE, expects its earnings per share to drop more than 70% year on year, because of nonrecurring items, such as its R4.7bn profit on the sale of Hastings.
However, an increase of more than 20% is expected when stripping out these one-off items, with a further trading statement expected.
OUTsurance took over the listing of its former parent Rand Merchant Investment Holdings (RMI), the investment holding company which has rebranded, in December on the JSE.
The collapse of the RMI holding company structure has been in the making since at least 2021, when the group announced the unbundling of its stakes in Discovery and Momentum Metropolitan.
The unbundling was also designed to address the gaping discount between the holding company’s JSE-listed market value and that of its underlying assets.
RMI’s phased collapse, and the associated reduction in personnel costs, will continue until March.
OUTsurance expects to release its financial results for the six months to end-December on March 22.
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