By Alice UribeSYDNEY--Suncorp Group's shares fell early Wednesday after the company's final dividend came in lower than expected amid reinsurance pressures and a delay in the prospective sale of its banking unit. The Australian general insurer's shares fell 3.0% to 13.34 Australian dollars (US$8.73) after earlier hitting a low of A$13.12. Suncorp, as part of its fiscal 2023 earnings announcement, declared a final dividend of A$0.27/share, up from A$0.17/share a year earlier, but said the full-year dividend payout ratio of 60% of cash earnings was at the bottom of the target payout ratio range of 60% to 80%. Citi analysts said the lower-than-expected final dividend missed both Citi and consensus expectations and the fiscal 2024 outlook guidance suggests a difficult first-half. Write to Alice Uribe at alice.uribe@wsj.com(END) Dow Jones NewswiresAugust 08, 2023 21:28 ET (01:28 GMT)Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Source: Wall Street Journal August 09, 2023 01:38 UTC