Industrial Alliance produces 1-Q earnings gain

Property and casualty insurance and financial services provider Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. (TSX: IAG) lifted net earnings for the first quarter of this year by 14% to $42.4 million compared with the $37.2 million disclosed for the same period in 2004. This equates to diluted earnings of $1.06 a share for the latest reporting period versus the 93c a share reported for the first quarter of 2004. The company’s annualized return on equity (ROE) for the first quarter of 2005 clocks in at 13.8% from last year’s ROE of 13.5%.
The Quebec-based company’s premiums and deposits for the first quarter of this year rose year-on-year by 25% to reach $997.9 million. Industrial Alliance’s auto and home insurance subsidiary performed particularly well over the latest reporting period, a company statement says. "We started 2005 with the same vitality that we ended 2004," comments company president Yvon Charest. Industrial Alliance also announced at its annual general meeting (AGM) that retiring chairman Raymond Garneau has been replaced by John LeBoutillier.