Mapfre reports almost 25 percent drop in net earnings for 2018

Spanish re/insurer Mapfre revealed a drop of almost 25 percent in its net earnings for 2018 as the company was affected by the cost of catastrophic events and currency depreciation.

Gross written premiums (GWP) fell 4 percent to €22.5 billion in 2018 from €23.4 billion in 2017. Non life GWP were down 6 percent to €17 billion from 18.1 billion a year before, while GWP for life were up 2.8 percent to 5.4 billion in 2018 from 5.3 billion the previous year.

Net earnings for 2018 were €529 million 24.5 percent lower than in 2017, the company said. Negative influences on the results included low interest rates and currency depreciations, which cost around €17 million, while catastrophic events, mainly hurricanes and winter storms, were responsible for €97 million in costs to the reinsurance business, and the restatement of the results for subsidiaries in Argentina produced a negative impact of €18 million.

Mapfre reported an improvement in its combined ratio of half a percentage point to 97.6 percent.

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