29.05.2000 |
Ad hoc Announcement
UNIQA Versicherungen AG The listed UNIQA Versicherungen AG will recommend a dividend of 16 percent at the shareholders meeting on 20 June 2000. The Holding Company (Konzernobergesellschaft), which exclusively carries on the reinsurance business, attained premiums written of ATS 5,558.0 million (EUR 403.9 million) and a profit on ordinary business activities of ATS 332.6 million (EUR 24.2 million) in 1999.
UNIQA Group The UNIQA Group managed to record a clear premium growth of 4.2 percent to ATS 31,505.6 Million (EUR 2,289.6 million) in 1999, its first financial year, in spite of difficult market conditions and during a phase of adjustment and reorganisation.
The fully consolidated domestic insurance companies - UNIQA Versicherungen AG, UNIQA Sachversicherung AG, UNIQA Personenversicherung AG, Raiffeisen Versicherung AG, Salzburger Landes-Versicherung AG und Collegialität Versicherung AG - contributed 95.3 percent of this with a premium volume of ATS 30,036.2 million (EUR 2,182.8 million).
The fully consolidated insurance companies outside Austria, the Austria Assurances S.A. in Switzerland, Austria Assicurazioni S.p.A. in Italy, Cesko-Rakouska Pojistovna a.s. (CRP) in the Czech Republic and Otcina Poistovna a.s. in the Slovak Republic as well as Austrija Osiguranje in Croatia increased their share of premium to the equivalent of ATS 1,469.4 million (EUR 106.8 million) or 4.7 percent (1998: 4.4 percent).
The UNIQA Group achieved a group profit on ordinary activities of ATS 827.0 million (EUR 60.1 million). This corresponds to a decline compared to the previous years result of the BARC Group of ATS 237.3 million (EUR 17.3 million) or 22.3 percent. The reasons for this are the falling premium levels with a simultaneous strong increase in benefit payments in the property and casualty insurance - especially in motor vehicle insurance. In addition, 1999 was strongly influenced by the extraordinary depreciation in the real estate sector resulting from the market development, which was caused by the depreciation in fixed interest securities conditioned by the increased interest levels as well as special expenses for the introduction into the market.
ATS 722.2 million (EUR 52.5 million) or 87,3 percent of the Group's profit on ordinary activities applied to the consolidated domestic insurance companies and ATS 104.8 million (EUR 7.6 million) or 12.7 percent to the foreign companies.
Capital investments were ATS 130,943.5 million (EUR 9,516.0 million) as at 31 December 1999, which corresponds to a plus of 6.0 percent. Thereof, ATS 129,271.9 million (EUR 9,394.6 million) applied to the domestic and ATS 1,671.6 million (EUR 121.4 million) to the foreign Group companies.
The consolidated net financial investments of ATS 7,865.6 million (EUR 571.6 million) earned during the reporting year are 0.5 percent above the previous year's value of ATS 7,827.7 million (EUR 568.9 million).
The hidden real estate reserves, which had to be reported for the first time in 1999, amounted to ATS 5,307.9 million (EUR 385.7 million).
Across all lines, the expenditure for claims amounted to ATS 21,417.9 million (EUR 1,556.5 million) for the reporting year, which corresponds to an increase of 4,2 percent or ATS 870.1 million (EUR 63.2 million). Of this, ATS 20,762.0 million (EUR 1,508.8 million) or 96.9 percent applied to the domestic and ATS 655.8 million (EUR 44.7 million) to the foreign companies.
The retained operating expenses were ATS 6,572.1 million (EUR 477.6 million) - ATS 6,241.0 million (EUR 453.5 million) or 95.0 percent domestically and ATS 331.1 million (EUR 24.1 million) or 5.0 percent abroad. The premium-cost ratio was 22.8 percent in 1999 (1998: 23.1 percent).
1999 UNIQA Group results by line The growth carrier in the past year with a premium plus of 10.1% was the life assurance segment, whose share of total premium increased from 37.2 percent to 39.3 percent. With premiums written of ATS 12,393.2 million (EUR 900.6 million), this line is the largest in the Group.
The property and casualty insurance segment, with a share of 32.2 percent of total premiums, recorded premiums written of ATS 10,451.0 million (EUR 759.5 million) in 1999. Through the positive development in the other lines, the competitive conditioned premium reductions in the motor vehicle insurance line could be compensated, so that the premium income remained the same as in 1998.
The premiums written in the health insurance line increased by 1.6 percent to ATS 8,661.4 million (EUR 629.5 million), whereby UNIQA could maintain its market leadership.
First quarter 2000 In the first quarter the UNIQA Group companies managed to increase the premiums earned by 18.3% to ATS 8,894.9 million (EUR 646.4 million).
The growth motor was once again life assurance with a premium increase of 36.0% to ATS 4,276.4 million (EUR 310.8 million). A clear premium growth of 8.0% to ATS 2,465.4 million (EUR 179.2 million) was also achieved in property and casualty insurance. The premiums increased by 2.8% to ATS 2,153.2 million (EUR 156.5 million) in health insurance. The UNIQA Group Companies paid benefits of ATS 5,563.1 million (EUR 404.3 million) - 12.5% more than in the comparable period the previous year - to their customers in the first three months of the current year.
Vienna, 29. May 2000