Earnings rise at insurer CPP despite FSA probe
IDENTITY protection provider CPP Group said its first-half profits had jumped by a third yesterday but warned that a probe into its selling practices had hurt its business.
York-based CPP, which also insures credit cards, said it made £23.1m pre-tax profit on revenues of £172.1m in the first half, but said its performance had been worsened by a Financial Services Authority investigation into some of its sales.
CPP chief executive Eric Woolley blamed the overhang from the investigation, which launched in March into how its ID protection insurance was sold over the phone, for loss of contracts and ongoing uncertainty.
“Costs and lost revenues as a result of the ongoing FSA investigation in the UK have impacted profitability,” he said. The group stopped selling the products by telephone in response to the investigation.
CPP shares closed up 0.9 per cent at 138.8p on the back of the results.