Generali Group has presented their financial results at 31 March 2021 with an excellent business profitability and a strong growth in operating result how stood at EUR 1.6 billion (+11%) due to the positive development of the P&C, Asset Management and Holding and other businesses segments.

The Group's gross written premiums increased by 4.2% to EUR 19,714 million, supported by the development of the Life segment as well as the recovery in the P&C segment.

The Group also confirmed its outstanding technical profitability, with the Combined Ratio improving to 88.0% (-1.4 p.p.) and the New Business Margin to 4.44% (+0.4 p.p.).

The Group's non-operating result was EUR -275 million (EUR -993 million 1Q2020), of which EUR -19 million related to the non-operating investment result. The significant improvement was thanks to the lower impairments on investments classified as available for sale. The first quarter of 2020 was also impacted by the one-off expense of EUR 100 million for the Extraordinary International Fund for Covid-19. The impact of interest expenses on financial debt further improved, as a result of the debt optimisation strategy.

Therefore, the net profit increased to EUR 802 million (EUR 113 million 1Q2020), also reflecting the lower tax rate, which decreased from 61.2% to 31.4%. In comparison, the first quarter of 2020 was affected by several non-deductible expenses.

In the Life segment, the net inflows increased to EUR 3 billion, up by 1% supported by the trends observed in France, Spain and Asia. The Group's net inflows were fully concentrated in the unit-linked and protection lines.

Gross written premiums grew by 5.5% to EUR 12,829 million, mainly driven by the growth in the unit-linked line (+21%), especially in Italy and France and, to a lesser extent, the protection business (+1.2%), concentrated in Asia, Italy and ACEER. The savings and pension business decreased (-2.6%), with diversified trends in the Group's various countries of operation.

Premiums in the P&C segment increased by 1.9% to EUR 6,885 million. On a business lines level, the motor line (+1.9%) was mainly driven by the positive development of premiums in ACEER, Italy and Argentina (also following adjustments for inflation). The non-motor line grew by 1.5%, spread throughout the various areas of the Group's operations. Europ Assistance was down (-26.3%), especially in the travel line, due to the pandemic restrictions.

The operating result of the P&C segment rose to EUR 690 million. The increase of 10% reflected the development of the technical result, while the investment result remained stable.

The Generali Group CFO, Cristiano Borean, stated: "The Group closed the first quarter of 2021 with a great performance in line with its targets, confirming the effectiveness of the 'Generali 2021' strategy. The Group remains among the most solid in the insurance sector, with an excellent capital position. The rebalancing of the Life business mix is well under way and has enabled us to maintain excellent profitability in the current low interest rate environment. Generali continues to post the best, least volatile Combined Ratio among its peers and has achieved impressive results in Asset Management and other segments. The strong growth in operating result and net profit demonstrate that the Group continues to operate effectively in a macroeconomic context that is still facing uncertainty due to the pandemic."

According to the Group, a recovery of the global economy in 2021 is expected in the current scenario following the spread of vaccines, with positive impacts for the insurance sector as a whole. The demand for Life insurance products, while recovering, will remain lower as households continue to be cautious both in terms of investment and consumption. P&C premiums are expected to increase, at higher rates than those prior to the pandemic.

More information on the financial results for Generali cand be read here.

Source: www.generali.com