Mexico's largest credit insurer Atradius Mйxico said its profits fell 22% in 2004 because of higher reserve provisions.
Profits of 10.4m pesos (US$927,000) compared with 13.3m pesos the previous year, according to insurance regulator CNSF.
Written premiums grew 22% to 159m pesos, while net gains from investments fell 21% to 14.4m pesos.
Atradius Mйxico's technical result fell 22% to 35.3m pesos as it set aside 23.3m pesos for reserves.
The company lost nearly 13 points of market share in 2004, ending the year with 60% of the credit insurance market.
While credit insurance has been offered for nearly 30 years in Mexico, the market has until recently grown slowly, namely because Atradius Mйxico's previous incarnations as Comesec and Gerling NCM enjoyed near monopoly status.
But competition is heating up with the entry of local and international names like GNP, AIG and Mapfre.
