Bahrain-based Al Ahlia Insurance has reported an increase of 956 per cent in net profit at BD2.5 million ($6.5 million) for last year as against BD238,311 for the previous year.

The firm's profit from insurance operations for the year stood at BD1.17 million, up by BD1.22 million from a loss of BD42,440 for the same period of 2012, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

The net loss for the fourth quarter for the year was BD61,127 compared to a loss of BD58,017 for the same period of the previous year, it stated.

The company's net earned premiums for the period stood at BD4,814,708 registering a growth of 6.3 per cent over the previous figure of
BD4,527,680, while its gross premiums for the period stood at BD11,409,258, up by BD213,633 from the previous figure of BD11.2 million.

"We will target achieving better operational results as well as a healthy growth in our insurance portfolio during the year," said Al Ahlia Insurance general manager Fadi Khatib.

He added that Al Ahlia's investment portfolio was showing strong results, shareholders' equity also increased by 15.4 per cent to BD16,277,915.

"The insurance market in Bahrain has become highly competitive in the past few years hence a lot of efforts are needed to maintain both profitability and customer satisfaction at the same time," Khatib said.

"We are moving forward by introducing new insurance products to our portfolio, a new website is already launched to enhance the company's online insurance services, our Sitra branch has been relocated to a new and more visible spot in Sitra Mall," he noted.

"In parallel, we are looking for a vibrant location in Muharraq for a new branch to be launched during the year with the aim being getting closer to our clients in the region," he added.-TradeArabia News Service