Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1498480
4 NEWS 4.5.2023 MAPFRE Middlesea p.l.c held its AGM last Friday and declared that as a stan- dalone company it registered a turno- ver of €87.12 million in gross premium written, an 8.7% increase over FY 2021 registering a marginal reduction in its non-life business market share. MAPFRE Middlesea p.l.c CEO Javi- er Moreno explained that growth was registered in all classes of business with significant growth in Health and Trav- el that picked up as outbound tourism outperformed sector estimates as the pandemic receded. Technical performance in the non-life business remained level with the previ- ous year although claim levels returned to pre-pandemic levels particularly in Motor. On the other hand, group life business returned an even stronger result than the comparative year. Investment income for the Company excluding dividends from Group com- panies was negative for FY2022 as fair value losses were registered both on property revaluation and on financial instruments compared to an overall positive contribution in FY2021. Total gross dividend from Group companies amounted to €1.31 million up from the €0.14 million in FY2021 as MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c. distributed a contained dividend after an absence of two years. e Company registered a profit be- fore tax for FY 2022 amounting to €5.99 million, compared to a profit of €4.06 million in FY 2021. Profit after tax in- creased from €2.61 million in FY 2021 to €3.79 million in FY 2022. Chairman Martin Galea announced that the Company maintained a strong balance sheet, with its shareholders' eq- uity amounting to €77.09 million, still maintaining a strong regulatory solven- cy position as at 31 December 2022 un- der the Solvency II regime. e Group's results include the con- solidated MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c. ("MMSV") profit before tax of €17.17 million (2021: €16.69 million). MMSV reported gross written pre- miums of €248.76 million compared to €325.14 million in 2021 mainly driven by a lower demand from single premi- um With-Profits business. e uncertain economic environ- ment, increased market volatility and increased debt issuance at higher cou- pon rates were the main factors behind the decrease in demand for MAPFRE MSV's flagship product, the With Prof- its Single Premium Plan. MAPFRE MSV's With Profits Fund re- turned a gross negative investment re- turn of 13.1% compared to the positive 4.2% generated in 2021. e breadth and depth of the financial markets turmoil was such that even well diversified investment portfolios closed the year with a negative performance, notwithstanding the market recov- ery from the year's low, during the last quarter. Investment return closed with a negative €286.72 million compared to a positive €97.58 million in 2021. e MMSV profit after tax consoli- dated for FY 2022 amounted to €11.70 million (2021: € €10.56 million). Total Group capital and reserves at- tributable to shareholders (excluding non-controlling interests) as at 31 De- cember 2022 was €113.08 million, com- pared to €111.04 million as at 31 De- cember 2021 as a result of the profit for the year outweighing the decrease in the value of-in-force business and the divi- dends paid by both MAPFRE Middlesea p.l.c. and MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c.. A final gross dividend in respect of year ended 31 December 2022 of €0.054618 per share amounting to a total dividend of €5,024,817 (2021: €2,796,910) was proposed by the directors at the annual general meeting. is is equivalent to a net dividend of €0.038044 per share amounting to a total net dividend of €3,500,000 (2021: €2,400,000). e outlook of the board of directors for 2023 remains one of cautious opti- mism. e local economy is expected to remain resilient in the context of a more challenging environment as inflationary pressures continue to push the cost of living higher. Global capital markets outlook re- mains one of volatility, at least, as long as inflation concerns persist and the interest rate path remains unclear with continued geopolitical risks in the back- ground. With inflation running at levels not seen in decades, global central banks will continue to play a crucial role through monetary policy and their ac- tions and communication having a sig- nificant bearing of the investors senti- ment and capital markets performance. Taming inflation while avoiding a hard landing will remain the key tough prior- ity of global central banks. Geopolitical risks will also continue to bear on the global economic recovery and capital markets volatility. e war in Ukraine not only continues to exac- erbate the supply chain bottlenecks and inflationary pressures but further po- tential escalations could serve as a cata- lyst for markets to sell off. Javier Moreno said "2023 will be the second year of the three-year Strategic cycle for the Group with the three main pillars being Customer Focus, Distri- bution and Diversification and Gaining Efficiency, goals that will continue to underpin our strategies for the coming two years." e chairman thanked Dr Robert Sub- an, who did not seek re-appointment as Director, for his sterling contribution to the Company. Godfrey Swain was appointed as di- rector, subject to regulatory approval. At the board meeting convened imme- diately after the annual general meet- ing, Martin Galea was re-appointed as Chairman of the Board of Directors of MAPFRE Middlesea plc. MAPFRE Middlesea holds AGM, announces total group profit before tax for 2022 of €22.18 million SOFT2BET, operator group and plat- form provider has announced that it has been approved by the Swedish Gambling Authority to receive a B2B permit. is is outstanding news for the oper- ator group and will help to enhance its B2C side as Soft2Bet will be much better equipped to service its three booming casino and sportsbook websites; Betinia, YoyoCasino and CampoBet. e new, five-year license (valid between the 1st of July 2023 until the 30th of June 2028) will pave the way for the Soft2Bet to be able to offer this license to its new and existing partners who are looking to work in the Swed- ish market. is means that players at licensed online gambling operators in Sweden can now look forward to explor- ing Soft2Bet's rich and varied portfolio of over 4000 casino games from more than 60 of the top game providers. All of these have been integrated to provide its operator partners with a diverse selec- tion of content. is will be extremely beneficial for all brands, particularly the latest one Soft- 2Bet launched in Sweden, Betinia, which is by far the most gamified casino and sportsbook project and continues to garner popularity in the market. Soft2Bet's General Counsel, David Yatom remarked, "Soft2Bet has been focused on the Swedish market for quite some time now and so, we are pleased to be cementing our footprint in the Swedish market both in the B2B and B2C spheres. is is a terrific achievement for the company which will be followed by many others." Soft2Bet is a rapidly growing and dy- namic casino and sportsbook platform provider and operator group with Swed- ish, Danish, Irish and Maltese licenses in its current portfolio. Soft2Bet receives Swedish B2B license