First-half profit rises at Lancashire Holdings

(Sharecast News) - Lancashire Holdings reported a rise in first-half profit on Wednesday as a quieter loss environment and disciplined underwriting helped improve its combined ratio.

Profit after tax increased to $141.7m from $109.2m a year earlier, while insurance revenue was broadly flat at $930.0m and gross premiums written fell to $1.32bn from $1.36bn.

The discounted combined ratio improved to 80.7% from 87.4%, while diluted earnings per share rose to $0.56 from $0.44.

Lancashire declared an interim dividend of 7.5cents per share and said it remained on track to deliver a high-teens return on equity for 2026.

"The first half of 2026 demonstrated the strength of Lancashire's strategy in action," said chief executive Alex Maloney.

"Our diversified portfolio, disciplined underwriting and strong capital position have produced an excellent return for shareholders while we continue to invest for future growth."

Net catastrophe, weather and large-loss claims fell to $60.1m from $211.2m, while the insurance service result increased to $198.8m from $155.7m.

Maloney added that losses arising from events in the Middle East remained manageable and were not material to the group, while Lancashire had increased its reserve for the MV Dali Baltimore Bridge loss to its full policy limits.

At 1148 BST, shares in Lancashire Holdings were down 5.61% at 623p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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