Generali Group posts upbeat third-quarter performance

Generali has recently been recognised among the Most Honoured Companies in the insurance sector by Institutional Investor

This upbeat performance was highlighted at the group’s recent meeting chaired by chairman Gabriele Galateri di Genola, where Generali’s Board of Directors approved the company’s financial information as of September 30, 2021.

Along with this, the group's operating result jumped 10 per cent on-year to €4,425 million ($5.02 billion), benefiting from the positive performance of the life, asset management, and the holding and other business segments. The property and casualty (P&C) segment made a resilient contribution, despite the higher impact of natural catastrophe claims.

The life segment continued to deliver excellent technical profitability, with the new business margin at 4.76 per cent against 4.10 per cent in the first nine months of 2020. The combined ratio stood at 91.3 per cent, up 1.6 percentage points.

The operating result of the asset management segment soared 32 per cent to €451 million ($511 million), mainly boosted by the growth in operating revenues, also thanks to the overall rise in assets under management. The operating result of the holding and other businesses segment continued to grow, thanks to the results of Banca Generali and the significant contribution of private equity.

The net result shot up 74 per cent to reach €2,250 million ($2.55 billion) against €1,297 million ($1.47 billion) in the first nine months of last year, thanks to the increase in the operating result and to the non-operating performance.

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The group's gross written premiums amounted to €54,899 million ($62.28 billion), increasing by 6.4 per cent, thanks to the growth in both the life and P&C segments. Life net inflows grew to €9.5 billion ($10.78 billion, up 3 per cent), entirely due to the trend in the unit-linked and protection lines of business.

The group confirmed its excellent capital position with the solvency ratio at 233 per cent compared to 224 per cent in the 2020 financial year). The increase of 10 percentage points was mainly driven by the solid contribution of the normalised capital generation, net of the dividend for the period calculated on a pro rata basis compared to the dividend of the previous year.

“The results for the first nine months confirm the group's excellent performance, technical profitability and solid trends across all businesses with one of the highest solvency ratios in the sector,” said Generali Group CFO Cristiano Borean.

“Life net inflows, entirely focused on the unit-linked and protection lines of business, continue to rise, while the P&C segment remains resilient, despite the higher impact of natural catastrophe claims. The results of the asset management segment continue to grow, also thanks to our multi-boutique strategy," he said.

“These results, which are fully in line with the successful completion of the Generali 2021 strategic plan, represent a solid foundation for the new three-year plan we will present to the market on December 15.”

By leveraging all of these initiatives and in light of the results achieved in the first nine months of 2021, Generali Group confirms its target of annual compound growth in 2018-2021 of earnings per share of 6-8 per cent, aligned with the group’s commitment to deliver profitable growth and create value for customers, consistent with Generali’s Lifetime Partner ambition.

As one of the largest global insurance and asset management providers, Generali is now present in 50 countries in the world, with a total premium income of €70.7 billion ($80.2 billion) in 2020.

With more than 72,000 employees serving 65.9 million customers, the group has a leading position in Europe and a growing presence in Asia and Latin America.