EANS-News: UNIQA Insurance Group AG
Further rise in UNIQA Embedded Value in
2013: Positive signal to shareholders
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Company Information/Embedded Value in 2013
Wien (euro adhoc) - Further rise in UNIQA Embedded Value in 2013: Positive
signal to shareholders
- Group Embedded Value (GEV) increased to 4,217.2 million euros (+45.4 per cent)
- Boosted by capital increase (re-IPO) and change in interest-rate levels
- Positive operating effects on profitability as a result of UNIQA 2.0 strategic
program
In 2013, market-consistent Embedded Value after minority interests of UNIQA
Group increased by 45.4 per cent year-on-year to 4,217.2 million euros (2012:
2,899.6 million euros). The present value in the life and health insurance
sector (value of in-force business/VIF) rose by 39.7 per cent to 1,702.6 million
euros (2012: 1,218 million euros). The return on Group Embedded Value increased
to 657.5 million euros (2012: 253.3 million euros) or to 23.2 per cent (2012:
16.5 per cent). And the New Business Margin - a key figure for profitability -
rose to 2.2 per cent (2012: 1.5 per cent). For CEE, it remained at a high profit
level in 2013 at 5.8 per cent.
The development of Embedded Value shows that the company is on the right track.
UNIQA director, CRO Kurt Svoboda, stated: "In 2013, we successfully completed a
further step of our long-term UNIQA 2.0 strategic program as scheduled. The key
figures and our findings and analyses from the embedded-value calculations are
extremely relevant to the management and alignment of the company and the life
insurance business in particular".
This positive performance is partly attributable to the financial performance,
the operating profit in 2013 and the growth in equity as a result of the capital
increase in the past financial year. An improvement in capital market
assumptions as a result of rising interest rates and falling volatility also
contributed to the development of Embedded Value.
Successful strategies bearing fruit
UNIQA pursues a long-term asset/liability management (ALM) approach.
Accordingly, the maturity structures of the asset and liability items are
coordinated, thus reducing the interest rate risk. This also decreases the
sensitivity of the embedded value to interest rate fluctuations. In addition, in
the context of a risk/return approach, the company is working on a changed
product strategy and realignment of profitability management in life insurance.
Last year's re-IPO has also had a positive impact on the embedded value.
The Market-Consistent Embedded Value, which is calculated based on international
guidelines, represents the value of the insurance policy portfolio and is
composed of the net assets for life, health, property and casualty insurance as
well as the current value of future income from the existing life and health
insurance portfolio. This calculation took into account the life and health
insurance business of UNIQA in Austria, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech
Republic, Hungary and Russia.
The Market-Consistent Embedded Value of the UNIQA Group was reviewed in full by
B & W Deloitte GmbH, Cologne.
UNIQA Facts & Figures
Group key figures 2013:
Premiums written - including the savings portion of unit- and index-linked life
insurance - increased by 6.2 per cent to 5,885.5 million euros (2012: 5,543.1
million euros). Premiums earned - including the savings portion of unit- and
index-linked life insurance - rose by 6.9 per cent to 5,638.2 million euros
(2012: 5,273.8 million euros).
Retained insurance benefits increased by 5.2 per cent to 3,955.3 million euros
(2012: 3,758.5 million euros).
Operating expenses (less reinsurance commissions received and profit shares from
reinsurance business ceded) rose by 2.9 per cent to 1,357.6 million euros (2012:
1,319.3 million euros). This includes non-recurring provisions for new strategic
projects (operational excellence and IT) in the amount of 25 million euros.
The Group cost ratio after reinsurance fell to 24.1 per cent (2012: 25.0 per
cent). Adjusted for the non-recurring provisions for new strategic projects, the
Group cost ratio amounted to 23.7 per cent.
The combined ratio in property and casualty insurance after reinsurance improved
to 99.9 per cent (2012: 101.3 per cent). Adjusted for flood-related costs and
the non-recurring provisions, the combined ratio amounted to 98.3 per cent.
Investments, including unit- and index-linked life insurance investments,
increased by 1,057.6 million euros as against the end of the previous year to
27,383.6 million euros (31 December 2012: 26,326.0 million euros). Net
investment income declined to 780.0 million euros as a result of the low level
of interest rates (2012: 791.4 million euros).
The Group's profit on ordinary activities (EBT) increased by 49.7 per cent to
305.6 million euros (2012: 204.2 million euros).
Net profit for the period increased by 72.3 per cent to 286.8 million euros
(2012: 166.5 million euros). This figure includes the result of discontinued
operations in the amount of 50.0 million euros (2012: 9.9 million euros), which
is attributable to the reversal of a provision (for HEROS litigation risks) in
connection with the disposal of the Mannheimer Group.
Consolidated net profit (after taxes and minority interests) increased by 123.0
per cent to 283.4 million euros (2012: 127.1 million euros).
The Management Board will propose to the Supervisory Board and the Annual
General Meeting the distribution of a dividend of 35 cents per share for the
2013 financial year (2012: 25 cents). Based on a total of 308,180,530
dividend-bearing shares, this corresponds to a total distribution of 107.9
million euros and a distribution ratio of 37.6 per cent of net profit for the
period.
The total equity of the UNIQA Group increased by 37.4 per cent to 2,789.9
million euros as a result of the re-IPO (31 December 2012: 2,030.0 million
euros).
The solvency ratio (Solvency I) rose to 287.1 per cent (31 December 2012: 216.0
per cent).
The Group's total assets increased to 31,068.6 million euros (31 December 2012:
30,054.6 million euros).
The return on equity (ROE) after taxes and minority interests amounted to 11.9
per cent (2012: 8.8 per cent).
UNIQA 2.0
UNIQA 2.0 is a long-term strategy programme that the company has been
implementing since May 2011. UNIQA has set itself the target of increasing its
customer base to 15 million by 2020 and improving its EBT by up to 350 million
euros between 2010 and 2012. In the process, the company is focusing on its core
business as a primary insurer in its core markets of Austria and Central and
Eastern Europe (CEE). The business model is geared towards profitable growth and
long-term value added in these markets. UNIQA intends to increase the
profitability of UNIQA Austria, improve the productivity of Raiffeisen
Versicherung Austria and exploit growth potential in CEE, and is implementing a
consistent risk/return approach.
UNIQA Group
The UNIQA Group is one of the leading insurance groups in its core markets of
Austria and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). 22,000 employees and exclusive
sales partners serve around 9.3 million customers in 19 countries. UNIQA is the
second-largest insurance group in Austria with a market share of around 22 per
cent. UNIQA operates in 15 markets in the CEE growth region: Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia,
Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. The UNIQA
Group also includes insurance companies in Italy, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Reservations concerning statements about the future
This message contains statements that refer to future developments of the UNIQA
Group. These statements are appraisals that are made based on all information
available to us at the current point in time. If the assumptions on which they
are based do not occur, the actual events may vary from the results currently
expected. For this reason, we cannot accept liability for these statements.
Further inquiry note:
UNIQA Insurance Group AG
Norbert Heller
Tel.: +43 (01) 211 75-3414
mailto:norbert.heller@uniqa.at
end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: UNIQA Insurance Group AG
Untere Donaustraße 21
A-1029 Wien
phone: 01/211 75-0
mail: investor.relations@uniqa.at
WWW: http://www.uniqagroup.com
sector: Insurance
ISIN: AT0000821103
indexes: WBI, ATX Prime, ATX
stockmarkets: official market: Wien
language: English
Original content of: UNIQA Insurance Group AG, transmitted by news aktuell