Generali H1 2019 net profit jumps 34.6% due to solid performance and disposals

Profits soared at Italian insurer Generali as it exceeded all targets in excellent first half 2019 results, partly driven by disposals but mostly due to positive developments in all business segments including life, property & casualty and asset management.

The group's net profit rose 34.6 percent to €1.8 billion in the first half of 2019 due to €480 million gains from disposals of Generali Leben and Belgian business. Without the capital gains from discontinued operations, adjusted net profit grew 6.4 percent to €1.3 billion.

The total gross written premiums amounted to €35.7 billion, up by 1.8 percent as a result of positive trends in both life and property & casualty segments.

The combined ratio stood at 91.8 percent in H1 2019, down two percentage points from H1 2018.

Generali Group CEO Philippe Donnet said: “These results show the Group’s capacity to generate sustainable financial and industrial value for all of its stakeholders. The first half of the year confirms the effective and disciplined implementation of the three-year strategic plan ‘Generali 2021’ in all business segments.”

"Generali today is an increasingly global insurance and asset management group, with technical excellence in the Life and P&C segments and distinctive expertise in asset management, allowing us to successfully overcome the competitive challenges of the sector to become lifetime partner to our customers,” he added.

In the property & casualty segment, gross written premiums continued the upward trend, increasing to €11.4 billion, and the combined ratio stood at 91.8 percent. Generali attributed the improvement to the non-catastrophe loss ratio in both the motor and non-motor lines of business.

The life segment enjoyed positive performances in almost all the main countries where the group operates. In particular, Italy benefitted from the decrease in lapses, France from increased premiums, and Asia benefitted from the combined effect of both factors. Gross written premiums amounted to €24.3 billion.

In the asset management business, net profit grew 22 percent to €133 million, largely due to the increase in operating revenues.

Commenting on its overall outlook and targets for the future, Generali said in a statement: "Despite the renewed pressure from rate trends, the Group confirms its targets for the next three years which forecast an increase in earnings per share of between 6% and 8%, an average RoE of more than 11.5% and a target pay-out ratio between 55% and 65%."

"The first few months of 2019 saw a continued overall slowing of economic growth and trade tensions between China and the United States, as well as weakness in the economies of industrialised countries. A number of critical issues persist, such as Brexit, a general decline in interest rates, as well as an uncertain sentiment in the financial markets. In this context, the Group is effectively implementing the activities envisaged in the ‘Generali 2021’ strategic plan, whose priority is to consolidate its leadership in Europe and strengthen its position in high-potential markets, financial optimisation, innovation and the digital transformation of the operating model."

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