CO pays 8% dividend on preferred shares, nothing for ordinary shares

The General Assembly of shareholders of Croatia osiguranje d.d. has made a decision to pay a dividend to holders of preferred shares in the amount of 8%. For all preferred shares, this amounts to 980,000.00 HRK. No dividend will be paid to holders of ordinary shares from the profits of 2006, and part of the profit will be allocated to retained earnings, announced the insurer.

The increase in total premiums and profits, stabilization of market share, improvement in efficiency in claims handling, and record growth in share prices marked the business year 2006, concluded at the 27th session of the General Assembly of shareholders of Croatia osiguranje d.d. At the 27th General Assembly, 25 shareholders were present, holding 263,380 votes or 83.3% of the total votes. All decisions were adopted by a majority vote.

In 2006, Croatia osiguranje d.d. maintained and further strengthened its leading position in the insurance market with a total premium of 2.9 billion HRK and an increase of 4.5% compared to 2005. In the total premium, non-life insurance accounted for 2.7 billion HRK, which is 4.0% more than in the same period of 2005, while life insurance accounted for 296.7 million HRK, an increase of 8.4%. The gross profit of the Company for the period from January to December 2006 amounts to 124.6 million HRK, which is an increase of 9.8% compared to the same period in 2005. The net profit of the company amounts to 105.1 million HRK, an increase of 7% compared to 2005. The CROATIA osiguranje Group also achieved exceptionally good business results last year – total revenue amounts to 3,894.5 million HRK, which is 8.0% more than the previous year.

The good business results of the company are confirmed by the high share price, which is listed in the first quotation of the Zagreb Stock Exchange. The highest price of ordinary shares of Croatia osiguranje in 2006 was 11,000.00 HRK, which is an increase of 91.7% compared to the end of 2005 when the price of ordinary shares was 5,660.00 HRK. The continued implementation of a quality business policy is evidenced by the fact that the share price on August 22, 2007, is 18,400.00 HRK, an increase of 69.6% since the beginning of 2007. The maximum share price was reached on May 17, 2007, when it amounted to 20,372.00 HRK.

The shareholders’ assembly made a decision to pay a dividend to holders of preferred shares in the amount of 8%. For all preferred shares, this amounts to 980,000.00 HRK. No dividend will be paid to holders of ordinary shares from the profits of 2006, and part of the profit will be allocated to retained earnings, which will be used for new investments. Croatia osiguranje d.d. plans to significantly strengthen its market position in the region through the establishment of new companies or the acquisition of leading insurance companies. For the Croatian market, it plans to regain the leading position in the life insurance segment and significant progress in the property insurance sector.