Britam Holdings' net profit for the half year ended June quadrupled to Sh1.64 billion on increased insurance revenue and growth in interest and dividend income.

The company, which restated its previous year's net earnings from Sh667.5 million to Sh377.9 million to reflect the switch to a new accounting standard, saw its insurance revenue rise 34 percent to Sh16.6 billion.

The Sh1.64 billion half-year net earnings is nearly the same as the Sh1.69 billion that the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm posted in the full year ending December 2022.

The life business’s revenue grew 32 percent to Sh5.23 billion while the general insurance business in Kenya saw a 41 percent growth in revenue to Sh6.95 billion.

General insurance revenue from businesses outside Kenya grew by 27 percent to Sh4.42 billion.

Britam CEO Tom Gitogo said the rise in insurance revenue was driven by new business in Kenya and the region, especially in the corporate segment.

“We have focused on areas that were previously underserved, including the youth and people at the bottom of the pyramid. Using technology, we have been able to tap into this space and also drive organic growth in areas we already serve,” said Mr Gitogo.

The firm also benefited from the reduced fair value losses from equities and government securities from Sh2.3 billion to Sh1.8 billion.

Insurance service expenses were flat at Sh11.84 billion compared with Sh11.4 billion the previous comparable period, helping the net insurance service revenue to rise to Sh1.92 billion from Sh113 million.

Interest and dividend income grew by 26.8 percent to Sh6.8 billion while income from investment property improved by 80 percent to Sh284 million to reflect increased rent collections as occupancy of its properties rose.