KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 10): LPI Capital Bhd saw a marginal contraction of 0.4% year-on-year to RM91.81 million in its net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2018 (3QFY18), from RM92.17 million, as quarterly revenue declined.

Its 3QFY18 earnings per share dipped to 23.04 sen from 23.14 sen a year ago.

The insurance company's revenue fell 4% to RM390.59 million for the quarter from RM406.79 million in the previous year, attributed to a decline in gross earned premium from its general insurance segment.

"The decline in gross earned premium was mainly due to a one-off release of unearned premium reserves of RM54.5 million recorded in the previous year arising from change in accounting estimate for provision of unearned premium," it said in a filing today with the exchange.

For the cumulative nine months, net profit was flat at RM230.05 million compared to RM230.8 million in the same period a year ago, while revenue increased 1.6% to RM1.12 billion from RM1.11 billion.

LPI founder and chairman Tan Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow said 2018 continues to be a challenging year for the Malaysian general insurance industry, amid volatile global economic conditions.

"On the domestic front, the property market has not recovered from its oversupply and weak demand position while major infrastructure projects have been under review, affecting the demand for general insurance.

"As a result, the Malaysian general insurance industry reported a mere 0.7% growth in its gross premium written for the first six months of 2018," he said.

At the noon market break, LPI's share price fell 2 sen or 0.12% to RM16.98, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM6.77 billion.