JARDINE LLOYD THOMPSON GROUP (Reuters) - Insurance and reinsurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Plc (>> Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc) reported a 15 rise in underlying pretax profit but said it was cautious for the rest of the year due to a marked decline in rates and a stronger pound.
Underlying pretax profit rose to 107.4 million pounds in the six months ended June 30 from 93.1 million pounds a year earlier, helped by its Towers Re unit.
Total revenue rose 15 percent to 559.6 million pounds. Revenue from the JLT Towers Re unit came in at 110 million pounds.
JLT, which negotiates insurance cover on behalf of corporate clients around the world, bought Towers Watson's (>> Towers Watson & Co) reinsurance brokerage last year for $250 million (£147.2 million) to expand its footprint in the United States.
However, JLT warned that full-year margin in the unit was expected to be broadly flat due mainly to the sharp decline in reinsurance rates as the business earns a much higher proportion of commission income than the rest of the company.
A further strengthening of sterling is also likely to impact the unit as it did not have a hedging programme in place at the time of the acquisition, JLT added.
The company, which advises mainly on risk management and employee benefits insurance from Sweden to Peru, raised its interim dividend to 10.6 pence per share from 10.1 pence a year earlier.
JLT shares fell as much as 3 percent to 1023 pence in low-volume trade on Tuesday morning on the London Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Richa Naidu and Roshni Menon in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
