Crawford & Company sank into the red in the second quarter as earnings fell and the sale of legal services arm Garden City Group incurred a $US17.8 million ($24 million) pre-tax loss.

The net loss for the June quarter was $US2.4 million ($3.2 million), compared with a $US10.2 million ($13.7 million) net profit in the corresponding period last year.

Consolidated operating earnings declined to $US21.6 million ($29.1 million) from $US29.2 million ($39.3 million).

The claims management group intends to increase its investment in Australia and other “Tier 1” countries such as the US and UK after selling the legal services business.

“Our sale of the Garden City Group in the second quarter is another key step that will further sharpen our focus as we move towards providing integrated end-to-end solutions for our clients,” CEO Harsha Agadi said.

“We will now be able to focus our entire organisation on our core client segments, which are corporates, brokers and carriers. Additionally, we have now realigned our sales teams in our major markets to more aggressively pursue these segments.

“We are also increasing our investment in our Tier 1 countries of the US, UK, Canada and Australia, where we are best positioned to leverage our strengths and more effectively sell ‘One Crawford’ to our clients.”