Regis buy lifts Steel Burrill

STEEL Burrill Jones, the insurance broker, has reaped the benefits of acquiring the energy-based insurance intermediary Regis Low Holdings last December.

The purchase gave a boost to group profits in the first half of the trading year.

Pre-tax profits climbed from pounds 5.29m to pounds 6.23m in the six months ended 30 June.

While Steel Burrill does not disclose the level of profit contributions from Regis, some analysts estimate that it made a first-time contribution of pounds 1.3m.

David Beresford Jones, group chairman, told shareholders that the results 'have not fulfilled your directors' expectations'.

He added that they 'did not foresee any improvement during the remainder of 1992' in the group's areas of activity.

Full-year profits are expected to be higher than the pounds 10.5m of a year ago and analysts expect the group to declare pounds 12.8m pre-tax.

The interim dividend is maintained at 4.25p, but the downbeat message from the company left the shares 9p lower at 164p.

If the contribution of Regis Low and Nelson Steavenson Bloodstock, the specialist bloodstock broker acquired earlier this year, is excluded, Steel Burrill's brokerage revenue was 10 per cent below the comparable 1991 level.

As it was, taking into account the acquisitions, brokerage income was pounds 24.55m, an increase of 19.5 per cent on the first-half 1991 figure of pounds 20.53m.

The board intends to recommend a maintained total dividend for the year.