personal group holdings plc said tuesday that firsthalf pretax profit fell after it booked higher costs but its performance remains in line to meet market expectations for the year the londonlisted provider of employee services including benefits and insurance products said pretax profit was 459000 pounds 490579 compared with gbp32 million for the first half of 2021 adjusted earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortizationa metric which strips out exceptional and other oneoff itemswas gbp15 million compared with gbp41 million the year before the company said this reflected the anticipated reduced contribution from insurance due to investment in policyholder acquisitions as well as increased claims costs offset by strong growth from other divisions revenue rose to gbp347 million from gbp328 million the company said that annualized premium income for affordable insurance its largest division rose 7 to gbp262 million and this provided a strong basis for future growth the board declared an interim dividend of 53 pence a share flat on the year prior whilst we continually monitor our lead indicators for signs of impact to the business we are pleased that to date all indicators remain positive thereby supporting the boards current confidence in the fullyear outcome chief executive deborah frost said shares at 0713 gmt were up 4 pence or 22 at 190 pence