BNH optimistic of ‘continued sustainable growth in future’

Bahrain National Holding (BNH) has reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 based on the adoption of two new accounting standards, IFRS 9 and IFRS 17.

The group is the parent of Bahrain National Insurance (bni) and Bahrain National Life Assurance (bnl) and has applied the two new accounting standards (IFRS 17 and IFRS 9), including any consequential amendments to other standards, effective January 1, 2023.

These standards have brought significant changes to the accounting for insurance and reinsurance contracts and financial instruments.

The group has therefore restated certain comparative amounts and presented a statement of financial position as of January 1, 2022.

The introduction of IFRS 17 as the standard for insurance reporting heralds a shift, not just in the way the results are reported, but also how the group’s stakeholders examine the fundamentals of the insurance business, and BNH affirmed its commitment to providing accurate and transparent reporting of the group’s performance.

During the first quarter ended March 31, 2023, the group achieved a net profit of BD1.74 million, compared to BD6.63m during the first quarter of the previous year, a decrease of 74 per cent.

Earnings per share during the first quarter were 15 fils compared with 59 fils in the first quarter of the previous year.

The total comprehensive income for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 decreased by 73pc to BD1.56m, compared with BD5.70m during the previous period of last year.

The decrease in the net profit for the first quarter of 2023 in comparison to similar period of the previous year was primarily due to an extraordinary non-recurring gain, amounting to BD5.87m, which was reported in the first quarter of 2022, on the reclassification of an equity accounted investee, Arabian Shield Co-operative Insurance Company (ASCIC), based in Saudi Arabia.

The investment in ASCIC has been reclassified as Available-for-Sale carried at fair value (reclassified to Fair Value through Other Comprehensive Income on the adoption of IFRS 9), effective January 12 2022.

Excluding the effect of this reclassification gain, the group achieved a growth of 131pc over the first quarter of 2022.

The total shareholders’ equity (excluding non-controlling interest) as of the end of first quarter of 2023 decreased by 4pc to BD63.28m compared with BD65.91m as of end-2022.

The total assets increased by 8pc to BD120.23m compared with BD111.49m as of end-2022.

The group achieved insurance revenue for the first quarter of BD10.64m, compared with BD10.47m in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 2pc.

The insurance service result for the first quarter increased by 22pc to BD1.26m, compared with BD1.04m in the first quarter of 2022.

The group reported investment return of BD920,000 during the first quarter, compared with a loss of BD146,000 for the first quarter of the previous year.

BNH chairman Farooq Almoayyed said: “Our underlying portfolio of businesses continue to demonstrate remarkable strength and resilience, backed by the performance of our two leading insurance subsidiaries. We are optimistic and positioned for continued sustainable growth in the future.”

BNH group chief executive Raed Fakhri said: “We are pleased with the performance of our portfolio, led by the performance of Bahrain National Insurance (bni), Bahrain National Life Assurance (bnl) and our investment portfolio.

The insurance subsidiaries’ transition to the IFRS 17 accounting standard will enhance the comparability and transparency of our financial reporting, and we believe it will bring even more clarity and confidence to our investors and stakeholders about our business health and future growth potential.

We look forward to continuing our positive trajectory to the benefit of all stakeholders.”

Source: https://www.gdnonline.com/Details/1243581