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Reinsurance giant Munich Re has just held its annual general meeting (AGM), and the messages are in line with those from when the firm announced its results in March. However, achieving those goals is going to mean some jobs will go.
As reported last month, the German reinsurer expects 2018 profits to be in the region of €2.1–2.5 billion – a range confirmed by chair of the board of management Joachim Wenning at yesterday’s AGM. This year’s profit guidance is higher than 2017’s €2–2.4 billion.
“For the first time in five years, we are once again able to increase our profit guidance compared to the previous year,” said Wenning. “We will continue to pursue this positive result trend in future. By 2020, we intend to raise our result to around €2.8 billion.”
Among the driving factors cited was “a reduction in complexity” at Munich Re.
“We will simplify our structures and processes in reinsurance and Group functions – and even do away with some of them entirely,” noted the chairman. “As a result, we will be able to run a growing business with fewer resources.
“We expect to achieve savings of over €200 million per year before tax. And, with natural fluctuation, semi-retirement, and attractive and fair redundancy packages, we will be cutting around 900 jobs worldwide, some 480 of which in Munich.”
Plans to slash Munich Re’s workforce first made rounds in February, and again the following month.
Meanwhile the AGM also saw the approval of an unchanged dividend of €8.60 per share for the 2017 financial year. Munich Re said it will be paying out a total of €1.3 billion to shareholders, despite last year’s exceptionally high hurricane losses.
