Results analysis: European reinsurers beat expectations
01 September 2009
There were some pleasant surprises among the big European reinsurance groups in the first half of 2009. But question marks still persist about the second half.
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[scor]
[hannover re]
[swiss re]
[munich re]
European reinsurers’ financial results showed a welcome bounce in the second quarter of 2009. Out of the four main groups – Munich Re, Hannover Re, Swiss Re and Scor – three beat analyst expectations, with only Swiss Re reporting a loss.
Hannover Re’s first-half profits surged 66.1% to Eu419m ($603.3m) compared with Eu252.2m the previous year. The company benefited from a series of one-off events, including the reversal of B36 investment losses and the company’s purchase of ING’s life reinsurance portfolio in January.
Munich Re’s second-quarter income climbed to Eu703m from Eu628m on improved investment returns, healthier premiums and the reduction of its share in UK insurer Admiral Group to 10.2% from 15.1%. The result beat the market consensus of Eu657m, and was described by Thomas Noack, analyst at WestLB, as “a move back to the right direction”.
Scor’s first-half net income dropped...
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