Sri Lanka Union Assurance June net down 16-pct

July 31, 2009 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's Union Assurance said net profit for the June 2009 quarter fell 16 percent to 41 million rupees from a year ago as tax costs and claims rose sharply.



The company, in which John Keells Holdings has an 81 percent stake, said in a stock exchange filing that group revenue rose 17 percent to almost 1.

6 billion rupees during the period.

General and life insurance premiums went up 10 percent to 1.

4 billion, net written premium up 15 percent to almost 1.



2 billion and net earned premium up nine percent to almost 1.

2 billion rupees in the June 2009 quarter from a year ago.

Insurance claims and benefits paid rose 27 percent to just over a billion rupees and taxation shot up to 5.6 million rupees in the June 2009 quarter from 303,000 rupees in the previous year.

Income from investments rose 48 percent to 426 million rupees.

Union Assurance's first half net profit went up two percent to 92 million rupees compared with the same period the year before.

"(This was) mainly due to a substantial increase in tax expenses," the company said in a statement.

General and life insurance premiums for the first half of the year increased by three