Health and motor insurance drove Tawuniya's growth. (Tawuniya)
Shares in one of Saudi Arabia's two biggest insurers jumped more than 7% on Thursday, among the market's top gainers, after its quarterly profit beat forecasts by more than 40%.
Tawuniya's net profit rose 74% to 301.7 million Riyal ($80 million) in the third quarter, the company said in a filing on Thursday. Analysts had expected $56 million, according to Argaam estimates.
Nine months in: profit for the year so far edged up 1% to $243 million. Premiums written grew 16% to nearly 20 billion Riyal ($5.3 billion).
What drove it: health premiums rose 15% and motor premiums jumped 32%. Its protection and savings business, still small, grew 54%. Investment income rose 17%.
Where it slowed: premiums from general insurance, which covers companies and projects, fell 8%. Tawuniya blamed lower demand for cover in the energy sector and the rescheduling of some engineering projects.
That's a small but telling sign that some project work is being pushed back.
The bigger picture: health insurance is compulsory for private-sector workers in Saudi Arabia, so a growing workforce means more policies. That has made the two biggest players, Tawuniya and Bupa Arabia, two of the steadiest earners on the market.
One caution: profit fell 6% from the second quarter, and its core insurance results turned slightly negative before reinsurance, as claims in general insurance rose.
What to watch: whether energy and engineering clients return in the fourth quarter.
