HELIOS UNDERWRITING PLC

Earnings Release • Mar 25, 2022

National Storage Mechanism | Additional information

RNS Number : 9869F

Helios Underwriting Plc

25 March 2022

25th March 2022                                                               

Helios Underwriting plc

('Helios' or 'the Company')

Quarterly Syndicate Mid Point Forecasts

and

Estimate of Net Asset Value per Share

Helios, the unique investment vehicle which acquires and consolidates private underwriting capacity at Lloyd's, announces the current mid-point forecasts in respect of its portfolio of syndicate capacity for the 2019 and 2020 years of account based on 4th quarter 2021 estimates.

Nigel Hanbury, Chief Executive, commented:

"As the only listed consolidator of private capital at Lloyd's, Helios offers a unique opportunity for growth and returns from exposure to the Lloyd's market through targeted acquisition of the capacity of the better performing syndicates. Our strategy is yielding superior results, with returns on average 6.1% better than the Lloyd's market itself over recent years. We are thrilled to learn of the market's return to profitability and our curated portfolio should outperform the market as we have done consistently.

"We have increased the retained capacity to £172m in recognition of market discipline and a harder market. We remain confident that we shall deliver improved results when compared to the market as a whole, and we look forward to creating further shareholder value as the benefits of the larger retained capacity flows to the income statement."

	Year of Account
	2019	2020	2021	2022
	£m	£m	£m	£m
Capacity - Position as at 25th March 2022
Retained	67.4	66.5	93.5	171.9
Reinsured	39.0	49.1	51.5	60.8
	106.4	115.6	145.0	232.7
Mid-point forecast at 30th September 2021	0.65%	0.77%
Final result / Current mid-point forecast	2.67%	0.97%
Lloyd's Market Average	(3.09%)	0.85%
Helios out performance	5.76%	0.12%

Commentary

The 2019 result showed a good improvement over the midpoint forecasts as at 30th September 2021 reflecting the investment returns achieved and the confidence in the old year reserves of the supported syndicates.

The outperformance of 5.76% of the portfolio against the average for the Lloyd's market for 2019 continues the trend of outperformance achieved over the last 5 years which averages 6.1%.

Estimate of Net Asset Value per Share (NAV)

The current estimate of the NAV using the net assets as at 30th June 2021 and the revaluation surplus on the capacity portfolio following the Lloyd's capacity auction in the 4th quarter 2021 is as follows:

			£'000
Net Tangible Assets - 30th June 2021			98,468
Capacity revaluation surplus			6,948
Revised Net Tangible Assets			105,416
Shares in Issue on market (000's)*			67,786
Estimated Net Tangible Asset per Share (pence)			1.56

*Excludes treasury shares and Joint Share Ownership Plan ("JSOP") shares

The increase in the value of the capacity portfolio made a substantial contribution to the growth in Net Tangible Asset Value per share in 2021 and the good results from the overall Lloyd's market recently announced is expected to be reflected in the underlying profitability of the Helios Capacity Portfolio.

Notes

1)    The table above shows the capacity as at 25th March 2022 splitting the capacity retained by Helios and the capacity that is ceded to quota share reinsurers. 

2)    The mid-point forecasts for 2019 and 2020 years of account as of 4th quarter 2021 have been aggregated at syndicate level from estimates supplied by Managing Agents.

3)    The impact on Helios will be as follows:

a.    The change in the mid point estimates on the retained capacity over the year will be recognised in the Helios income statement in the year to 31st December 2021.

b.    The overall change in the result will be recognised by Helios in cash at the close of the year of account.

For further information, please contact:

Helios Underwriting plc

Nigel Hanbury - Chief Executive                                                              07787 530 404 / nigel.hanbury@huwplc.com

Arthur Manners - Chief Financial Officer                                               07754 965 917

Shore Capital

Robert Finlay                                                                                               020 77408 4080

David Coaten

Henry Willcocks

Buchanan

Helen Tarbet / Henry Wilson / George Beale                                     +44 (0)7872 604 453

+44 (0)20 7466 5111

About Helios

Helios provides a limited liability direct investment into the Lloyd's insurance market and is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market (ticker: HUW). Helios trades within the Lloyd's insurance market writing approximately £232m of capacity for the 2022 account. The portfolio provides a good spread of business being concentrated in property insurance and reinsurance. For further information please visit www.huwplc.com.

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