Lloyd's of London underwriter Beazley Group reported full-year profits ahead of forecasts today and said it expected strong underwriting conditions to continue.
Beazley, which floated in November 2002, said pre-tax profit for 2003 was £17.1 million sterling ($31.61 million), compared with a loss of £1.2 million the previous year.
Analysts had estimated the figure at around £15.6 million.
The firm's main growth driver was its speciality lines division, and the group said it expected to achieve "respectable" rate increases for speciality line premiums in 2004.
Elsewhere, schoolboy wizard Harry Potter continued to cast his spell over publishing house Bloomsbury last year, the company announced today.
The London-based firm said record-breaking sales of JK Rowling's fifth instalment in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, helped generate "strong" annual figures.
Pre-tax profits before goodwill soared 38 per cent to £15.4 million in the year to December 31st, while turnover increased 22 per cent to £83.1 million, in line with analysts' expectations.
Bloomsbury now hopes the relaunch of specially designed editions of the book will allow it to break into the largely untapped adult-crossover market.
