Generali enjoys huge group net profit for Q1

Italian giant Generali has reasons to be merry – among them its 28.1% growth in group net profit for the first three months of 2019.

The latest to release its financial results for the first quarter, Generali said group net profit in the period rose to €744 million (around NZ$1.272 billion) from €581 million (around NZ$993.3 million) previously. Its consolidated operating result, meanwhile, amounted to €1.3 billion which represents a 6.9% increase from 2018’s first quarter figure.   

Broken down, here are the numbers in terms of operating result per business segment:

• Life – €804 million, up 5.1%
• Property & casualty – €548 million, up 3.7%
• Asset management – €71 million, up 4.7%

Gross written premium (GWP), meanwhile, grew 6.6% to €18.9 billion. Of this amount, €12.5 billion came from life while property & casualty contributed €6.4 billion. Both segments saw higher GWP compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile Generali’s preliminary regulatory solvency ratio stood at 207%.

“The first quarter results confirm excellent performance in terms of the group’s profitability and its solid capital position,” noted chief financial officer Cristiano Borean. “Volumes continue to grow, as shown by the increase in life net inflows, assets under management, and total premiums.

“The focus on value generation is evidenced by continuing excellent levels of the combined ratio and new business margin. The net result, even without taking into account the positive contribution of disposals, demonstrates strong growth.”

Borean said the figures indicate that the implementation of the previously announced Generali 2021 strategy “has gotten off to an excellent start.”