E-L Financial 6-month earnings fall

Canadian financial services holding company E-L Financial Corporation Ltd. (TSE: ELF) saw earnings for the first half of 2001 drop by 9% to $30.8 million compared with the $33.8 million reported for the same period the year prior. This equates to earnings of 801 a share for the first six months of this year (June 2000: 879 a share).

E-L Financial operates in the property and casualty insurance and life markets, as well as portfolio investment management. Major subsidiaries include The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Co., Chieftain Insurance Co., The Empire Life Insurance Co., Concordia Life Insurance Co., and E-L Financial Services Ltd. P&c business accounted for 53% of the company’s revenue up to the half-year mark.

E-L Financial’s revenue for the first six months of this year also clocked in lower at $631.2 million compared with $638.3 million disclosed a year ago. The directors attribute the weaker performance of this year to reduced profitability from the company’s p&c and life insurance businesses. The portfolio investment operation is said to have grown over the current reporting period. Although the company’s p&c-based revenue significantly outpaces that of its life operations, the latest reporting figures suggest the biggest drop occurred on the general insurance side. P&c net income for the latest six-month reporting period amounted to $10.6 million off of $349.3 million in revenue, while life insurance generated $13.7 million in net income from revenue of $256.9 million.