Global reinsurer Munich Re has announced a preliminary net profit of €2.1 bn for Q1 of 2024, as the firm highlights a better than expected operational performance across all lines of business.
Munich Re will release its full Q1 2024 results on May 8th, but has today provided some preliminary figures which suggest a very strong start to the year for the company.
At €2.1 bn, the German reinsurer notes that the Group significantly surpassed the mean value derived from the estimates of 11 financial analysts of €1.476 bn for the quarter.
The operational performance of all lines of business was better than expected for the full year:
- In property-casualty reinsurance, the combined ratio was approximately 75%, attributable in particular to below-average major-loss expenditure.
- Life and health reinsurance recorded a total technical result of around €0.6 bn.
- ERGO’s net result stood at approximately €0.3 bn.
- Buoyed by a favourable capital market environment, Munich Re achieved a high investment result, with an ROI of approximately 3.8%, and a positive currency result.
Munich Re still anticipates a net result of € 5bn for the 2024 financial year. Surpassing this target has become more likely due to the Q1 result.
In property and casualty reinsurance, Munich Re has reported a combined ratio approximately 75%, which the firm attributes mostly to below-average major loss costs. This marks an improvement on the 86.5% combined ratio achieved in Q1 2023.
In its life and health reinsurance arm, the carrier has reported a total technical result of roughly €600 mn for Q1 2024, a solid improvement on the €320 mn seen a year earlier.
ERGO, the firm’s primary insurance business, achieved a net result of €300 mn, compared with €219 mn a year earlier.
On the asset side of the balance sheet, Munich Re highlights that a favourable capital market environment helped it achieve a high investment result, with an ROI of approximately 3.8%, and a positive currency result.
by Yana Keller
