Sabre reiterates full-year guidance despite drop in gross premiums

Motor insurance outfit Sabre saw gross premiums drop in the six months ended 30 June, but said it was still on track to meet its existing full-year guidance.

Gross premiums fell 6.99% to £101.2m, which was actually "slightly better than anticipated".

Sabre said it had continued to mitigate the impact of industry-wide claims inflation, which it stated was running at approximately 7-8%.

The FTSE 250-listed firm also saw pre-tax profits dip 6.15% to £30.5m despite new policies and renewals being written at its target margins, as the group continued to work on maintaining its strategy of prioritising underwriting profitability over volume.

Sabre proposed an interim dividend per share of 4.7p - a marked reduction on the 7.2p returned to shareholders a year earlier.

Chief executive Geoff Carter said he was pleased to have delivered interim results in line with expectations.

"The financial and operational performance of Sabre demonstrates the resilience of the business model and the merit in our strategy, despite the competitive market conditions.

"The market remains competitive with the dynamics observed in the earlier part of the year continuing through to the end of June."

As of 0940 BST, Sabre shares had dipped 2.70% to 270.50p.