Irish Life & Permanent shares dip

IRISH Life & Permanent Plc, Ireland’s largest life insurer, said sales of savings, pensions and insurance products were weaker than it expected in the first-quarter as stock market declines deterred consumers. The company’s shares fell as much as 5.4%.

Sales of such products in the Irish market are estimated to have fallen more than 40% in the first quarter from a year ago, the company said. Irish Life, which gets two-thirds of total earnings from its life assurance unit, said it “performed slightly better” than the overall market. As well as falling consumer confidence, Irish Life cited a government savings plan that boosted sales last year and has now closed, and said some consumers are delaying purchases as they wait for a new government pension plan to start.

“It’s the severity that’s the shock of it,’ said Roman Cizdyn, an analyst at Commerzbank, who has a hold rating on the stock. “It was widely known there was a special offer a year ago and there’s a new pension coming in, but I don’t think many people will be looking for minus 40%.” Irish Life’s shares fell 54 cent, or 5.3%, to 9.61 at 12:01pm in Dublin, and traded as low as 9.60, the biggest one-day decline in percentage terms in more than six months.