Global insurer MAPFRE posted an operating result of €658 million (about AU$1.0 billion) in 2020. The company said it was “highly affected” by the COVID-19 pandemic in the first six months of the year, but produced a solid result in the second half, when it generated €388 million.
At year-end, the company decided to strengthen its balance sheet by assigning €132 million to the entire goodwill impairment of its operations in Italy, Turkey, and Indonesia, with the intent to adapt to new market circumstances and lay the foundation for continued profitable growth.
MAPFRE said that the impairment does not have an impact on either its cash positions or solvency margin. Accounting for this effect, the result for the period stood at €527 million – down 13.6% from the previous period.
The company’s 2020 results were also impacted by COVID-19-related claims. In its reinsurance business alone, these claims amounted to €80 million. Another €68 million was added due to the earthquakes in Puerto Rico. Excluding these losses and the goodwill impairment, the profit for 2020 remained stable, with 0.2% growth over the previous year, compared on a uniform basis.
The group posted revenues of €25.42 billion, a drop of 10.7%, while premiums amounted to €20.48 billion, a drop of 11.1% from 2019. MAPFRE said the drops were driven by the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
MAPFRE’s combined ratio improved by nearly three percentage points in the 2020 fiscal year, closing at 94.8%. The company pointed to solid progress in the automobile line in all relevant countries. MAPFRE’s attributable equity at year-end was €8.54 billion, and total assets were €69.15 billion.
MAPFRE’s investments amounted to €44.89 billion, with 52.1% of that amount corresponding to sovereign fixed income, 18.1% to corporate fixed income, and 6% to equities.
