Six major nonlife insurers said Thursday their group net profits in the April-September period rose from a year earlier as insurance payments slipped below projections on a smaller-than-expected number of natural disasters.
They also reported pretax profits for the first half of fiscal 2009 after incurring losses from the global financial crisis for the whole of fiscal 2008, indicating the stabilizing of their financial performances on a stock market recovery.
But a fast decline in transportation of goods amid the global recession forced net premium revenues to decline at all six companies except Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., which took advantage of a foreign company acquisition to boost such revenues.
Tokio Marine, the largest among the six, almost quadrupled its April-September consolidated net profit from a year earlier to ¥71.25 billion.
But this net profit slips below the combined ¥77.53 billion for Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Holdings Inc., Aioi Insurance Co. and Nissay Dowa General Insurance Co., which plan to integrate into one group next April. Nissay Dowa made only an unconsolidated profit available.
Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. and Nipponkoa Insurance Co., which also intend to integrate into one next April, reported a combined group net profit of ¥48.23 billion.