Insurers lose 241m euros on Stock Exchange in 2008

The four insurers listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE), Agras, Asirom, Ardaf and Astra, lost over 240 million euros of their stock market capitalisation last year, three times more than they had gained in 2007. The value of listed insurance companies strongly depreciated in 2008, with the biggest decline being recorded by Astra shares, which lost 81.6% of their value. The company controlled by businessman Dan Adamescu ended the first nine months of last year with a 79% turnover rise and a net profit worth 360,000 euros. Brokers say Stock Exchange investors no longer paid heed to the financial results announced by the listed companies, or to the fact that Astra had to settle a record-high, 7 million-euro claim for a TAROM-held damaged aircraft. Investors sold because of the negative sentiment on the market, say brokers. In the case of Astra, one cannot even talk about investors, because the volume was very low. Investors lost interest in Ardaf shares, as well, which went down 54.8% last year, after being suspended from trading for several months, in order for losses to be deducted from the share capital. The company' stock market capitalisation fell even further, by 82.67% as a result of the share capital reduction. The insurer with the third biggest loss is Asirom, which lost 50% of its capitalisation and almost 80% of its share price. Asirom is held by the Vienna Insurance Group, which reduced its stake in spring, from 98% to 86%, following the share capital increase. Agras, set up as an agricultural insurance company, listed on the 2nd tier of the BSE in 1999, saw its share price go down 41.5% last year. The company was taken over by Austrian group Uniqa at the end of last year, when the Austrians bought Unita, Uniqa's majority shareholder, in a transaction put at 190 million euros.