Allianz P&C profit up 28%

Allianz grew its operating profit 22.7% to €2.2bn in the second quarter of 2010 with property-casualty operating profit up 28%

Total quarterly revenues grew by 14.5% to €25.4, from €22.2bn in the second quarter of 2009. Operating profit jumped by 22.7% to €2.2bn, compared to €1.8bn.

H1 highlights (2009 in brackets)

• Total revenues €56.0bn (€49.9bn)
• Operating profit €3.9bn (€3.2bn)
• Net income €2.7bn (€1.9bn)

Michael Diekmann, CEO, said: "We had a very good half-year with double-digit growth in both revenues and operating profit.

“In a first half-year marked by exceptionally high natural catastrophe losses, our success shows that our diversified approach across business segments and regions is helping us to ensure stable results.

“In addition, our strong capitalization and conservative capital management underline the reliability for which Allianz is renowned."

Property-casualty

In the Property and Casualty business gross premiums written increased to €10.0bn in the second quarter. Compared to €9.5bn in the second quarter of 2009, premiums increased by 4.5%. Adjusted for currency effects, premiums rose by 0.5%.

An improved underwriting result and higher investment income contributed to a 28.2% increase in quarterly operating profit to €1.1bn, following €895m in the second quarter of last year.

Combined ratio

The combined ratio improved to 96.3%, compared to 98.9% in second quarter 2009 and 100.4% in first quarter 2010. Claims from natural catastrophes amounted to €255m, and made up 2.6 percentage points of the combined ratio.

This compares to 1.1 percentage points in second quarter 2009. A higher run-off ratio of 4.2% had a positive effect on the combined ratio.

Gross premiums written for the first six months of 2010 grew by 2.3% to £23.9bn, compared to £23.4bn in the first half of 2009. Half-year operating profit remained stable at €1.86. The half-year combined ratio improved to 98.4%, following 98.8% in the first six months of 2009.

Soft market

Oliver Bäte, chief financial officer, said: "While in the second quarter soft market conditions persisted in many insurance markets, positive price effects were observed in several of our core markets. In addition, our quarterly operating profit growth shows progress in terms of underwriting, claims management and productivity.”