23.11.2023 |
- Premiums written up by more than 9 per cent to €5.5 billion
- Earnings before taxes up by just under 22 per cent to €305 million
- Private hospitals: €245 million investments in new buildings
- Supervisory Board adopts leaner Management Board structure
UNIQA Insurance Group AG presents robust figures for the first nine months of the 2023 financial year, with premium growth of 9.4 per cent to €5.5 billion and a significant increase in earnings before taxes to €305 million. Andreas Brandstetter, CEO of the UNIQA Insurance Group: “Despite a high claims burden due to severe weather and major losses, especially in the summer in Austria, we were able to significantly improve our results. The increased profitability, primarily driven by our companies in Central and Eastern Europe, enables us to continue investing in the health ecosystem. In addition to the €65 million that are already being invested in the current expansion and modernisation of Döbling Private Hospital, we are also investing €180 million in the joint new construction of the Confraternität and Goldenes Kreuz private hospitals in Vienna. In addition to the important focus on prevention, which we are addressing with our second brand Mavie, we are setting new standards in medicine and care in our PremiQaMed Group’s private hospitals.”
Leaner Management Board structure from July 2024
The UNIQA Management Board is being downsized further. As the Supervisory Board decided at its meeting on 22 November, the Management Board team, which will continue to be identical for the listed UNIQA Insurance Group AG and its subsidiary UNIQA Österreich Versicherungen AG, will comprise seven instead of nine members in future. Peter Eichler and Erik Leyers’ mandates on the Management Board are scheduled to end on 30 June 2024. To optimise synergies in the departments represented at the Management Board level, Wolf Gerlach will take over Erik Leyers’ agendas while René Knapp will assume those of Peter Eichler. Eichler is retiring but will continue to support the company in an advisory capacity with his many years of expertise and will become a member of the UNIQA Privatstiftung Management Board from July 2024.
The Supervisory Board has extended the terms of office for the following Management Board members until 30 June 2028:
- Andreas Brandstetter, CEO (54)
- Wolf Gerlach, Operations, Data & IT (44)
- Peter Humer, Customers & Markets Austria (52)
- Wolfgang Kindl, Customers & Markets International (57)
- René Knapp, Asset Management, Personal Insurance, Personnel & Brand (40)
- Kurt Svoboda, Finance & Risk Management (56)
Sabine Pfeffer´s (50) mandate , who took over the Customers & Markets Bancassurance Austria department on 1 April 2023, remains unchanged until 31 December 2026.
Key figures for 1 – 9/2023
UNIQA Insurance Group AG prepares its financial statements in accordance with the new IFRS 9 and IFRS 17, which have been in force since 1 January 2023. The comparative values for 2022 are also stated in accordance with IFRS 9 and 17. Even though the premiums written are not part of the IFRS 9 and 17 reporting, they are still being reported.
Premiums written at UNIQA Insurance Group AG, including savings portions from unit-linked and index-linked life insurance, rose by 9.4 per cent to €5,460.3 million in the first nine months of 2023 compared with the same period of the previous year (1 – 9/2022: €4,991.6 million). Above all, property and casualty insurance and health insurance contributed to this very satisfactory growth.
The insurance revenue in accordance with IFRS 17 at the UNIQA Group rose in the first three quarters of 2023 by 9.3 per cent to €4,430.4 million (1 – 9/2022: €4,053.0 million). All business lines and segments contributed towards this, with property and casualty insurance increasing by 11.4 per cent, health insurance by 6.2 per cent and life insurance by 3.6 per cent. Insurance revenue in Austria rose by 5.3 per cent and gained 15 per cent in the international companies.
UNIQA’s technical result amounted to €398.2 million (1 – 9/2022: €468.1 million).
Net investment income rose in the first nine months of 2023 to €440.7 million (1 – 9/2022: €33.6 million), primarily driven by higher current income. The financial result amounted to €110.9 million (1 – 9/2022: €-68.3 million) in the reporting period.
The UNIQA Group’s earnings before taxes improved significantly by 21.7 per cent to €304.9 million (1 – 9/2022: €250.4 million). Consolidated profit/(loss) (the proportion of net profit/(loss) for the period attributable to the shareholders of UNIQA Insurance Group AG) increased by 2.5 per cent to €224.5 million (1 – 9/2022: €219.1 million).
The solvency capital requirement (SCR) ratio in accordance with Solvency II – considered to be an indicator for capitalisation – was at a high level of 244 per cent at UNIQA as of the key reporting date of 30 September 2023.
Results in the business lines
Property and casualty insurance
Premiums written in property and casualty insurance rose by 14.4 per cent to €3,236.8 million in the first nine months of 2023 (1 – 9/2022: €2,830.0 million).
The gross combined ratio in property and casualty insurance rose to 92.0 per cent (1 – 9/2022: €89.6 per cent), attributable to the very high claims from severe weather and major losses in Austria.
Health and life insurance
In health insurance, growth of 8.2 per cent to €1,041.7 million was recorded in premiums written in the first three quarters of 2023 (1 – 9/2022: €962.5 million).
In life insurance, premiums written (including savings portions from unit-linked and index-linked life insurance) decreased slightly in the reporting period by 1.4 per cent to €1,181.8 million (1 – 9/2022: €1,199.1 million).
New business in health and life insurance remained at a healthy level in the first nine months of 2023. The new business margin was 4.3 per cent with a new business value of €97.1 million.
The contractual service margin (CSM) increased to €6,125.2 million as at 30 September 2023 (1 January 2023: €5,460.1 million). This balance sheet item – which has been new since IFRS 17 – represents the profits expected from insurance contracts in future.
Outlook
For the 2023 financial year, UNIQA aims to continue with the improvements in its core business. However, due to the expected unstable macroeconomic development, the current 2023 financial year – as the 2022 financial year before it – will be characterised by significant uncertainties, among other things due to volatile capital markets, high interest rate sensitivities in the investments, uncertainty regarding the development of inflation and the general trend to greater losses from natural catastrophes. These are the reasons why no outlook can be provided on the development of results in the 2023 financial year. The dividend distribution is based on the company’s profits. UNIQA continues to plan for an attractive annual dividend distribution despite the challenging economic and political environment.
Disclaimer regarding statements about the future
This press release contains statements that refer to the future development of UNIQA. These statements present estimations, which were reached on the basis of all of the information available to us at the present time. If the assumptions on which they are based do not occur, the actual results may vary from the results currently expected. As a result, no guarantee can be provided for the information given.