Global insurance giant Allianz SE has today posted its trading results for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, which CEO Oliver Bäte has described as its “strongest ever third quarter.”
Compared to Q3 2020, the group saw total revenue growth of 9.5% in the period, rising from €31.4 billion to €34.4 billion (approx. US$39.79 billion), while its internal revenue growth was 9%. Meanwhile, compared to the same period last year, operating profit grew 11.3% from €2.9 billion to €3.2 billion. Allianz attributed this largely to its asset management and life/health business segments, which reported their best-ever third quarter operating results
Allianz’s property-casualty business segment operating profit was largely stable at €1.3 billion for Q3 2021 as an improvement in the underwriting result was offset by a lower investment result. Total revenues for the segment rose 9% from €12.9 billion in Q3 2020 to €14.1 billion in Q3 2021, and its combined ratio increased slightly by 0.2 percentage points to 94.7% in the quarter.
Commenting on the property-casualty segment, Allianz SE CFO Giulio Terzariol said: “I am proud of our ability to provide considerable financial support to our customers affected by the extreme weather events this year even while delivering a good operating performance. Our property-casualty franchise is strong and we continue to focus on underwriting discipline and productivity to remain on our growth and margin trajectory.”
The group’s life/health business segment saw ‘dynamic sales and strong operating profit’ during the quarter with the present values of new business premiums having jumped to €19.7 billion, up from €12.9 billion in Q3 2020. Operating profit for this business increased to €1.3 billion, up from €1.1 billion last year, driven by a rise in investment margin and improved technical margin.
Finally, its asset management arm recorded ‘excellent performance’ during the quarter with third-party assets under management having increased by €51 billion to €1,881 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2021, compared to the end of the second quarter of 2021. Operating profit surged by 30.2% to €882 million in the third quarter of 2021, compared to the prior year.
For the nine months ended September 30, Allianz recorded an operating profit of €9.9 billion and noted that this reaches 82% of its full-year target of €12 billion. 2021 operating profit is now expected to be at the higher end of the target range of €12 billion, plus or minus €1 billion.
“This was our strongest-ever third quarter. I see this as a confirmation of our ability to serve customers and investors alike,” said Bäte. “Extreme weather events and rapid macroeconomic shifts highlight the important contribution that insurers and asset managers can make to society. And our solid numbers prove that we can do so with a healthy financial performance.”
Terzariol added that these results “demonstrate the good momentum in all our business segments” and the Allianz franchise is said to be in excellent shape. Therefore, he sees the group as being on track to reach an operating profit at the higher end of its target range.
