Desjardins Financial Security is reporting a 22.8% increase in profit for the third quarter ended September 30.

Net earnings for the quarter were $29.2 million up from $23.8 million reported for the same period a year ago.

The life and health insurer says income from insurance premiums and annuities rose 9% to $485 million in the third quarter of 2003, compared to $444.2 million a year earlier.

Return on equity was of 13.6%, up sharply from 11% in the third quarter of 2002.

The company says the continued growth was due to higher sales, favourable underwriting experience across most business lines, the stock market recovery, as well as strict control of costs. It adds that the upcoming sale of the Bahamas division, announced on November 3, had no impact on the third quarter financial results.

“We posted excellent results in the third quarter in terms of individual annuities, with sales up 34.7% from one year ago. This reflects the trend among consumers to opt for products that offer safer returns. As for the individual and group insurance sectors, their operating results surpassed projections. Additionally, profitability was up across all Canadian distribution networks from a year ago,” said François Joly, president and chief operating officer of Desjardins Financial Security.

Group premiums totalled $344.5 million, up 13.1% from the same quarter last year. At $996.2 million, they have hovered close to the billion-dollar mark since the beginning of 2003.

Individual insurance sales totalled $9.4 million in the last quarter..

Annuities and savings products were up sharply in the third quarter from $53.6 million in 2002 to $73.3 million, an increase of 36.7% from third quarter last year.