Global insurance giant Allianz has reported a slight increase in net income to €1.9 billion for the third-quarter of 2019, while operating profit was strong at €3 billion despite a decline in Property and Casualty (P&C).
Overall, Allianz saw its total revenues increase by just over 8% to €33.4 billion in Q3 2019. Operating profit was strong for the quarter and was aided by higher asset under management driven revenues within its Asset Management unit and higher profits in Life/Health, somewhat offset by a dip in P&C profits in the period.
Oliver Bäte, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Allianz SE, commented: “Allianz has once again delivered very solid results in challenging times. We are proud that so many customers trust in our products and in our brand. We are ready to reach the upper half of our operating profit outlook despite a significant increase in external challenges.”
The insurer’s P&C insurance segment has reported an increase in revenues of more than 6% to €13.2 billion in the third-quarter of 2019. However, the underwriting result was hit by a lower contribution from run-off year-on-year, which offset improvements in the expense ratio and accident year loss ratio.
As a result, the unit’s combined ratio increased by 1.2 points to 94.3% in Q3 2019 when compared with the same period in 2018.
Commenting on the performance of the firm’s P&C unit in the period, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Giulio Terzariol, said: “I am pleased with the ongoing progress in the productivity efforts within our Property-Casualty segment. Our business is in good shape as shown by the strong revenue development. Our underwriting remains disciplined, while we benefit from a healthy price momentum which supports our profitability going forward.”
In life/Health, Allianz notes dynamic new business growth and robust margins. The present value of new business premiums grew by more than 20% to €16.1 billion in Q3 2019, driven mostly by life insurance business in Germany, the U.S., and Italy. Operating profit jumped to €1.083 billion versus €1.052 billion in Q3 2018.
“Our Life/Health business segment recorded a robust new business margin of 3.1 percent in a challenging interest rate environment. We continue to work on our products to provide attractive solutions for both our policyholders and our shareholders. Our Life/Health business is clearly on track to achieve our full-year targets,” said Terzariol.
Allianz’s third-party assets under management grew by €90 billion to €1.68 billion, once again hitting an all-time high for the firm. At the same time, total assets under management increased to a new all-time high of €2.28 billion.
“Once again, we hit another all-time high with 1,681 billion euros of third-party assets under management – also backed by consistently strong third-party net inflows year to date. This supports well the future profitability of our business and clearly indicates we are well on track to achieve our full-year operating profit target,” added Terzariol.
