ING Canada Q3 profit drops to $57M from year-ago $92M on market volatility

By The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Insurer ING Canada Inc. (TSX: IIC.TO) reported Wednesday a third-quarter profit of $57 million, down from $92 million a year-earlier on losses related to turbulence in global stock markets.

The Toronto-based subsidiary of Dutch bank and insurance giant ING Group said its net earnings amounted to 47 cents per share, down from 74 cents per share during the same time period in 2007.

Included in its results for the quarter were $62 million worth of losses from declining investments as stock markets around the world tumbled.

Total revenue fell to $1.05 billion compared to $1.09 billion in the same time period last year.

"The Canadian economy is weakening under the pressures of the global financial crisis and reduced commodity prices," the company said in a statement.

"However, the property and casualty insurance industry tends to be less sensitive to economic slowdown than many other sectors."

Net operating income - underwriting, interest, dividend and corporate income after taxes - increased 11.5 per cent to $106.4 million.

"Our operating performance continues to improve, with a significant increase in the profitability of our auto and commercial insurance activities during the quarter," said president and CEO Charles Brindamour.

"This improvement resulted from numerous underwriting and pricing initiatives taken over the last twelve months to address the increased costs in claims in personal insurance, and our strategy to concentrate on the most profitable segments of commercial insurance."

Brindamour added that during the quarter, the company sold $260 million worth of its equities holdings and reinvested the proceeds in Canadian government treasury bills to reduce its exposure to market volatility.