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Allianz said it has increased its operating profit by 6.8 percent to 4.0 billion Euros in the first quarter of the year as the Group affirms its all-year outlook. The operating report recently released shows the total business volume advancing 5.3 percent to 48.4 billion euros with operating profit increasing 6.8 percent to 4.0 billion euros driven by the Property-Casualty business segment and supported by good results in the Asset Management and the Life/Health business segments. The report also shows shareholders’ core net income rise to 2.5 billion euros, up by 15.7 percent and a strong solvency II capitalization ratio of 203 percent.
Outlook:
- 2024 operating profit target maintained at 14.8 billion euros, plus or minus 1 billion euros.
Other:
- 1 billion euros share buy-back started, 0.5 billion euros completed
Commenting on the performance, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz SE, Oliver Bäte, said: “Allianz’s strong results demonstrate the quality of our fundamentals, the value of consistency in the execution of our strategy, and the advantage of the broad talents and skillsets that are represented across our organization. Our 5 percent business volume growth and double-digit increase in shareholders’ net income signal a strong start to the year. In our Property-Casualty business, solid top-line growth and bottom-line increase reflect the balance of growth and underwriting discipline.
”The Life/Health new business development confirmed the attractiveness of our broad product portfolio. In our Asset Management operations, net flows in the first quarter already exceeded last year’s full-year levels, underscoring the quality of our business and its value to clients. Our proven track record of profitability, resilience, and consistent capital management make us the trusted partner of choice, especially in times of heightened uncertainty and accelerated change.”
Financial highlights
Total business volume
1Q 2024: Total business volume rose by 5.3 percent to 48.4 billion euros, driven by all business segments. The Property-Casualty business segment recorded good price-driven growth, while the increase in the Life/Health business segment was primarily due to favorable sales momentum in the United States and Italy. Growth in the Asset Management business segment benefited from higher Assets under Management (AuM) and higher performance fees.
Internal growth was 7.5 percent, with contribution from all business segments.
Earnings
1Q 2024: Operating profit was strong at 4.0 (1Q 2023: 3.7) billion euros, up by 6.8 percent, driven by the Property-Casualty business segment and was broadly equally split between an increased operating insurance service result and a higher operating investment result. The operating profit was also supported by the Asset Management business segment due to higher net fee and commission income, while the Life/Health business segment achieved a good operating profit on last year’s level.
Shareholders’ core net income increased to 2.5 (2.2) billion euros due to a higher operating profit and non-operating result.
Net income attributable to shareholders rose to 2.5 (2.0) billion euros.
Core earnings per share (EPS)3 were 6.42 (5.43) euros.
The annualized core return on equity (RoE)3 was 17.4 percent (full year 2023: 16.1 percent).
Solvency II capitalization ratio
The Solvency II capitalization ratio was 203 percent at the end of 1Q 2024 compared with 206 percent at the end of 2023.
Segmental highlights
“Allianz’s strong performance in the first quarter demonstrates our unwavering commitment to value creation:
- In our Property-Casualty operations strong price-driven internal growth and strict underwriting discipline contributed to a very good increase in our operating profit. Benign natural catastrophes and higher investment income also supported the result.
- The widespread new business growth across our Life/Health segment underlined the quality of our global franchise in a competitive environment. Together with an attractive new business margin, this puts us in a very good position for continued value creation.
- In our Asset Management operations, strong third-party net inflows and exceptional performance fees demonstrated that we successfully managed a volatile capital markets environment. An increase in our third-party AuM and our competitive cost-income ratio position us well for profitable growth.
Chief Financial Officer of Allianz SE, Claire-Marie Coste-Lepoutre, said: “We had a very good start into the year and our ability to create value for our shareholders is supported by a strong Solvency II ratio of 203 percent. We confirm our full-year outlook of an operating profit of 14.8 billion euros, plus or minus 1 billion euros.”
Property-Casualty insurance: Very good operating profit
1Q 2024: Total business volume increased by 5.7 percent to 25.5 (24.1) billion euros. Adjusted for foreign currency translation and consolidation effects, internal growth was 7.5 percent. The main driver was very good growth of 9 percent in Retail, SME & Fleet. Commercial lines advanced by 4 percent.
Operating profit rose strongly by 10.4 percent to 2.1 (1.9) billion euros. Growth was equally split between an increased operating insurance service result and a higher operating investment result.
The combined ratio remained at an excellent level of 91.9 percent (91.9 percent). The loss ratio was 67.3 percent (67.0 percent) as lower run-off was partly offset by benign claims from natural catastrophes and a better attritional loss ratio. The expense ratio improved by 0.3 percentage points to 24.6 percent.
Life/Health insurance: Strong new business growth
1Q 2024: PVNBP, the present value of new business premiums, increased to 22.3 (18.5) billion euros, driven by higher volume in most entities. Allianz Re as well as positive sales momentum in Italy and the United States were the main contributors.
Operating profit remained strong at 1.3 (1.3) billion euros.
Contractual Service Margin (CSM) rose from 52.6 billion euros at the end of 2023, to 53.2 billion euros as of March 31, 2024, with strong normalized CSM growth of 1.7 percent. Performance was good across our entities while Allianz Re also benefited from a large contract.
The new business margin (NBM) increased to 5.7 percent (5.5 percent). The value of new business (VNB) surged to 1.3 (1.0) billion euros due to volume growth throughout most entities as well as an improved business mix.
Asset Management: Strong net inflows
1Q 2024: Operating revenues reached 2.0 billion euros, up 4.7 percent, driven by increased AuM and higher performance fees. Adjusted for foreign currency translation effects, operating revenues grew by 5.7 percent.
Operating profit increased to 773 (723) million euros, up by 7.0 percent. Adjusted for foreign currency translation effects, operating profit rose by 8.1 percent. The cost-income ratio (CIR) improved to 61.1 percent (62.0 percent).
Third-party assets under management amounted to 1.784 trillion euros as of March 31, 2024, up by 71 billion euros from the end of 2023. The main contributor was strong net inflows of 34.2 billion euros, with further positive contributions from currency translation and market effects.
Total assets under management were 2.297 trillion euros at the end of the first quarter 2024, up 73 billion euros from the end of 2023, in line with the results for the third-party assets under management.
PS and core RoE calculation based on shareholders’ core net income.
