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Insurer Hastings group maintained plans to pay a heavily reduced dividend even as it reported a fall in revenue amid lower earned premiums and investment income in the first quarter of the year.
For the 3 months ended 31 March 2020, revenue fell 2% to £179.2m and gross written premiums fell 1% to £234.3m 'The first quarter of 2020 has been unprecedented with the Covid-19 outbreak placing additional operational challenges on top of recent industry headwinds,' the company said.
The company said it still intended to seek shareholder approval of the final dividend of 5.5p at the annual meeting on 21 May, representing a reduction of 39% on the 2018 final dividend.
Looking ahead, Hasting said it was monitoring further inflationary risks, which were likely to continue throughout 2020 following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, particularly caused by disruption to repair networks and supply of parts.
'Underlying business performance, including the delivery of benefits from the group's technology and strategic initiatives, remains in line with management's expectations,' the company said.