Island insurance firm BF&M yesterday announced its net income was up 15 percent through the first nine months of this year.

BF&M president and CEO John Wight said: “The company’s core operations relating to insurance and investment advisory and administration services continued to perform well, despite the ongoing challenges that impact our individual, commercial and group customers in Bermuda, Barbados and Cayman, where the majority of business is operated from.”

He added: “The company’s balance sheet continues to be very strong.”

The results for the first nine months of 2013 showed shareholders’ net income of $15.8 million — an annualised return on shareholders’ equity of 10 percent.

Shareholders’ net income for the same period in 2012 was $13.7 million. Mr Wight added that equity attributable to shareholders at the end of September was $217.1 million, while general fund assets totalled $1.1 billion, of which $99.7 million was held in cash and short-term deposits.

And he said: “Based on the company’s strong balance sheet, the board of directors maintained the dividend of 20 cents per share for shareholders of record at December 31, 2013.”

Ratings firm AM Best lists BF&M’s two principal Bermuda subsidiaries, BF&M General Insurance Co. and BF&M Life Insurance Co, at A (Excellent).

BF&M’s Insurance Corporation of Barbados and Inland Heritage Insurance Co. also have A — Excellent ratings.

The firm’s financial report added: “When comparing the results of 2013 with 2012, it is important to note that BF&M Limited acquired Island Heritage Holdings Ltd, a leading Caribbean company with extensive insurance operations, on March 30, 2012 and thus the 2012 Q3 BF & M earnings do not include the 2012 Q1 results of this company.”

The report added that gross premiums written for the period were up 10 percent on the same period last year to $273 million.

And it said: “investment income for the nine months reflected by a $19.3 million decrease in the value of investments for the period as the marginal increase in interest rates decreased the fair value of the company’s extensive fixed income portfolio.”

But the report said that was offset by an $18.2 million decrease in the value of policyholder benefits “as a result of the company’s disciplined asset liability matching policy which limits volatility of reported earings as a result of interest rate swings in either direction”.