Shares in Randall and Quilter Investment took a dive after the group posted a loss on ordinary activities following an impairment charge, plunging the company into the red.
A pre-tax profit (PTP) on activities on 2010 of £7.5m turned to a loss of £4.7m, equal to loss per share (EPS) of 0.9p (2010: +12.2p). The market had been expecting a PTP of £8.31m and EPS of 12.60p.
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"Whilst investment markets were and remain challenging, percentage returns on funds held by our insurance company subsidiaries remained stable at 3.0% overall (2010: 3.0%), significantly above the Lloyd's market average of 1.9%," the company said.
"Total investment income however fell, reflecting a significant reduction in average balances held."
R&Q was keen to emphasise that its Insurance Investments division performed very well, generating an operating profit of £8.3m (2010: £7.4m), driven by strong net reserve releases in the UK portfolios.
No dividend will be paid, a disappointment for investors who had been expecting something around the 8.09p-per-share mark.
The firm also announced that it has agreed to acquire the entire issued share capital of Trimac Acceptance and its wholly owned subsidiary, Trimac Exit Insurance, a Barbados domiciled captive insurer, for $2.7m.
NR
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