Bahrain National Holding Company (BNH) is looking to expand its business and launch new value-added products during the year, chairman Farouk Almoayyed has said.

Almoayyed told the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication, the year however is expected to be a challenging one due to continued low oil prices and the dependency of the government budget on oil revenues.

Speaking on the sidelines of the company's annual general meeting, Almoayyed said looking back on last year, the group achieved good results, both in its core insurance underwriting businesses and investments, and continued to build a balanced and profitable portfolio.

BNH has reported a 27 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at BD3.8 million ($10.08 million) for last year when compared with BD3 million in 2013.

"The group increased its direct business in Bahrain and won a number of large clients last year despite severe competition," he said.

The company's medical insurance segment effected a turnaround in profits after improving claims controls and efficiency.

Shareholders have approved the board recommended dividend of 20 per cent.

The group's subsidiary, Bahrain National Insurance, achieved a net profit of BD3.3 million last year as against BD3.5 million in 2013, while the fourth quarter earnings were BD345,000 as against BD995,000 earlier.

Another subsidiary, Bahrain National Life Insurance, recorded net profit of BD871,000 last year as against BD156,000 in 2013.

BNH chief executive Sameer Al Wazzan said the group made significant progress in its general insurance business while the profitability of the life and medical business improved substantially.

"Our approach helped us to secure large government tenders and corporate businesses while maintaining growth in the SME business as well.

"Regional investment markets were volatile towards the last quarter, however our prudent and diversified approach helped us to maintain excellent investment returns," he said.

The associates reported better results and the group has increased its stake in those associate companies with strong long term potential and strategic benefit, he added. - TradeArabia News Service