Allianz profit jumps due to life insurance
ALLIANZ, Europe’s biggest insurer, yesterday reported better-than-expected results for the third quarter, thanks to strong trading in life insurance and asset management.
And the firm said it was well-placed to capitalise on the improving global economy as it posted a 23 per cent jump in operating profit.
But despite the strong results, the insurer refused to give a forecast for the full year – which ends in a matter of weeks – due to market volatility and the possibility of a surge in large claims from winter storms. It also shied away from giving guidance for 2010.
Allianz reported quarterly operating profit of €1.93bn (£1.73bn), above the average forecast of €1.8bn in a Reuters poll of 18 analysts.
It also swung to a quarterly net profit of €1.3bn, above the €1.2bn expected in the poll, from a €2bn loss in the third quarter of 2008 when it sold its unprofitable Dresdner Bank unit to Commerzbank.
The insurer said economic weakness was still hitting demand in the broader insurance market, a trend underscored by a drop in operating profit of nearly a fifth in its main business of property and casualty insurance.
Analysts said Allianz had delivered a solid set of figures and hailed the insurer’s ability to pad its capital cushion in the third quarter. “Allianz is currently one of the best capitalised insurers with a significantly reduced risk profile,” WestLB analyst Andreas Schaefer wrote in a note to clients.
Chief financial officer Oliver Baete said Allianz had no plans for either acquisitions or a capital hike, adding that it planned to stick to its policy of paying out 40 per cent of net profit in dividends.