Lloyd's reveals huge drop in pre-tax profits

Lloyd's has revealed a huge drop in pre-tax profits in its 2008 interim results. For the period ending 30 June 2008, Lloyd's reported a pre-tax profit of £949m, down from £1.807bn for the same period last year. However, the market had a healthy combined ratio of 89%, while investments returned £346m. A statement issued by Lloyd's said the results reflected a softening in market conditions and a rise in attritional claims.