Bahrain's Social Insurance Organisation (SIO) has posted a remarkable turnaround in its financial results with a profit of BD34 million last year compared to a BD126 million loss in 2008.

SIO is the government body, which handles pensions, unemployment benefit and compensation for workplace accidents. It also managed a 73 per cent increase in its foreign investment portfolios last year, compared to 2008.

Chief executive officer Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa said the results were extremely encouraging after the huge losses incurred as a result of the global financial crisis.

'We not only wiped out the loss, we also registered a substantial profit,' he said during a Press conference organised to present its financial results.

SIO chief operations officer Abdul Nabi Nasser Salman also attended the event, at the SIO headquarters in the Diplomatic Area.

The results were presented to Finance Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa on Thursday, who is also the SIO chairman.

'There was also an increase in total contributions from BD335m in 2008, to 363m in 2009, an increase of 8.34 per cent,' said Shaikh Mohammed.

'In addition, we were able to manage an increase in the value of benefit pensions from BD191 million in 2008 to BD201 million last year, again an increase of 5.75pc.'

Shaikh Mohammed said while the surplus of contributions on the benefit pensions was BD144m in 2008, it increased to BD161m last year, an increase of 11.84pc.

'The percentage of interest income from deposits, however, declined marginally to BD55m last year from BD65m in 2008, mainly due to low interest rates in global markets,' he said.

'It was encouraging to note that the total investment returns increased last year, to BD163m, from BD14m in 2008,' he said.

'The total income also increased from BD158m in 2008 to BD324m last year.'

Shaikh Mohammed said the overall net profit for the year increased to BD300m last year, from BD131m in 2008, an increase of 128pc.

He said until September this year, the SIO had already achieved a BD148m return on investment as against BD96m which officials had estimated.

The SIO was set up by a Royal decree in 2008, after merging the General Organisation for Social Insurance and the Pension Fund Commission.

Besides providing workers insurance against disability, death and unemployment and work-related injuries, it also prepares researches and studies, legal researches concerning the explanation of civil, military and social insurance laws.-TradeArabia News Service