Prudential posts strong growth in profit

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Top insurer PT Prudential Life Assurance (PLA), a subsidiary of Prudential Plc. -- a global financial service group based in London, posted a 130 percent jump in profit in 2004 from a year earlier boosted by rapid growth in its premium income.

Throughout 2004, premium income reached Rp 1.56 trillion, about 53 percent higher that the previous year, a statement from the company said on Monday.

The premium income growth helped the company, that serves more than 12,000 customers nationwide, boost its pre-tax profit from Rp 71 billion in 2003 to Rp 163 billion last year.

The company, established here in 1995, offers a variety of products and services, although life insurance remains the focus of its business.

Presently, Prudential Life Assurance boasts sales offices in the country's six major cities, namely Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Bandung, Denpasar and Semarang, in addition to 65 agency offices nationwide.

In terms of its risk-based capital (RBC), a measure used to gauge an insurance firm's financial health, the statement said that the firm's RBC as of Dec. 31 last year stood at 469 percent, far exceeding the 120 percent requirement as set out by the Ministry of Finance which regulates and oversees the nation's insurance industry.

Meanwhile, PLA's parent company, Prudential Plc., currently boasts more than 16 million customers worldwide and has over $350 billion in funds under its management.