Munich Re Group today declared end of year profits of €1.83bn (£1.28bn), compared to losses of €434m (-£303m) the year before.

Reinsurance accounted for €1.7bn (£1.19bn), up from €1.6bn (£1.12bn) last year. The combined ratio in reinsurance was 98.9%, 2.2 percentage points worse than 96.7% in 2003.

Premium income from reinsurance declined by 9.7% to €22.4bn (£15.6bn) from €24.8bn (£17.3bn) the previous year.

Primary insurance returned to the profit zone, with a result of €261m (£182m) compared to losses of €1.1bn (£761m) in 2003. Combined ratio was 93.0% compared to 96.4% last year.

"I am more than satisfied with the result of this mixed year. We are well on the way to achieving sustained profitability and thus regaining our former strength", said Nikolaus von Bomhard, chairman of Munich Re.

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