Mapfre Middlesea Group has doubled its half-year profit, compared to the first six months of last year.

In a statement issued yesterday, the company said that the consolidated group result for the first six months of 2015 amounted to a profit of €15.1 million before tax, compared to €8.2 million registered during the same period last year.

The profit after tax, allocated to shareholders, amounted to €5.2 million, compared to €3 million in 2014.

Meanwhile, the group’s gross premiums increased by 49.4 per cent during the first six months and the general business turnover continued to register growth in excess of market performance, with an increase of 15.1 per cent.

The company noted that following this performance during the initial months of the year, worries about the Greek debt default caused markets to retract sharply in the last two months. Bond yields returned to the levels of end 2014.

Still, the investment portfolios registered higher returns when compared to June 2014, particularly those of MSV Life.