SCOR, 9M2019: Group net income rose 17.3% YTD

24 October 2019 —
For the first nine months of 2019, SCOR Group secured a net income of EUR 401 million, 17.3 percent more compared to the same period of 2018. The return on equity (ROE) was 8.8%, exceeding the profitability target set in "Quantum Leap" business plan by 816 bps.

Gross written premiums (GWP) reached the volume of EUR 12,055 million at the end of the first nine months of 2019, up 3.2 percent at constant exchange rates (+6.3% at current exchange rates).


SCOR Group nine months financials (vs. 9M2018)

  • Gross written premiums: EUR 12,055 million (+6.3%), of which:
    • P&C: EUR 5,264 million (+14.6%)
    • Life: EUR 6,791 million (+0.7%)
  • Net income: EUR 401 million (+17.3%)
  • Total investments: EUR 28,540 million (+3.3%)
  • Technical reserves (gross): EUR 30,647 million (+1.3%)
  • Cost ratio: 4.7% (-0.3 pp.)
  • Net combined ratio: 95.7% (+2.1 pp.)
  • Life technical margin: 7.2% (+0.2%)
  • Return on investments: 2.4% (+0.3 pp.)
  • Annualized ROE: 8.8% (+1.2 pp.)


Property & Casualty (P&C) GWP was EUR 5,264 million, 43.7% share from total GWP volume, up by 11.5 percent at constant exchange rates (+14.6% at current exchange rates). P&C segment growth was driven by strong 2019 successive renewals, but also benefitted from the very robust second half of 2018 renewals, in particular in the U.S. In spite of heavy loss activity, the net combined ratio increased by 2.1 percentage points y-o-y, to 95.7%. The combined ratio was influenced by the following factors:
  • Nat cat impact of 12.0% in 3Q2019 QTD mainly coming from the Hurricane Dorian (EUR 92 million net) and Typhoon Faxai (EUR 89 million net), leading to a YTD cat ratio of 7.6%, slightly above the 7% budget assumption;
  • Net attritional loss and commission ratio of 81.3% in 3Q2019 YTD, 2.1 pts above 2018 due to a higher level of manmade losses and the impact of the decision taken on the Ogden rate (EUR 13 million);
  • A reserve release of EUR 60 million (pre-tax) in 3Q2019 QTD, partially offsetting the impact of the high natural catastrophes and man-made losses;
  • Expense ratio benefiting from the increase in premium volume;

Life GWP was EUR 6,791 million, 56.3% share in total GWP, decreasing by 2.5 percent at constant exchange rates (+0.7% at current exchange rates), this variation being largely driven by the renewal of certain Financial Solutions transactions as fee business (rather than as premiums) since the beginning of the year. The life technical margin of 7.2% in 3Q2019 YTD was in line with "Quantum Leap" assumptions, benefiting from:
  • Positive impact of 0.4% from the above mentioned Financial Solutions transactions that renewed in 3Q2019 YTD as fee business;
  • Solid technical result from in-force business. U.S. claims ~EUR 110 million higher than 3Q2018 YTD, balanced by active portfolio management and a strong reserve position;
  • Profitability of new business in line with the Group's RoE target.

Total investments reached EUR 28.5 billion, with total invested assets of EUR 20.3 billion and funds withheld of EUR 8.2 billion. Portfolio positioning reflects liquidity at 9%, corporate bonds at 44%, and government bonds at 24%.

Investment income benefited from realized gains of EUR 43 million in 3Q2019 QTD largely from real estate sales, generating a return on invested assets of 3.0% in the third quarter alone.


Denis KESSLER, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of SCOR, commented on the results:

"SCOR records a solid performance in the first nine months of 2019, achieving its solvency target and outperforming its profitability target of its new strategic plan "Quantum Leap". SCOR demonstrates once again its capacity to successfully combine profitability and solvency, in spite of challenging conditions that the industry faced in the third quarter of 2019, marked by a series of natural catastrophes and man-made P&C claims, combined with historically low levels of interest rates.

The Group continues to expand and deepen its franchise both on U.S. P&C, the largest market in the world, and on Life reinsurance in AsiaPacific. The award granted to SCOR as "North American Reinsurer of the Year" is a testimony of both the quality and the development of the Group's franchise in North America. The Group is fully mobilized to pursue value creation for the benefit of all stakeholders."



Mark KOCIANCIC, Group Chief Financial Officer of SCOR, presents the 3Q2019 results in the following video footage:




More financial information about SCOR Group can be found on company's website.

Source: scor.com

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