Allianz Lanka posts Rs 85 mn 1Q profits

Allianz continued its upward growth trajectory in the first quarter of 2013, achieving a profit before tax of Rs 85 million, a 5 % increase over last year.

The Non- life Company generated a GWP of Rs. 532.2 million during the period, which is a 14% increase over the first quarter of 2012. Of this GWP, 63% was contributed from the fire segment whist the motor segment showed the highest growth for the quarter.

The Life Company’s GWP grew by 42% over the first quarter figures of last year to Rs172 million. New business premium grew by a corresponding 69%.

The first quarter of this year saw Allianz Lanka further expanding its network by three new branches in strategic locations in Chillaw, Thrinavill and Bandarawella to provide more customers with speedier service and ease of access.

‘Our aim this year has been to increase our customer portfolio in the retail sector and we are already experiencing tangible results here, due, undoubtedly, to our customer focus,’ said Allianz Lanka CEO Surekha Alles.

Allianz Group continued its successful course from 2012 with a strong first quarter in 2013. All key indicators rose over the reporting period. With 32 billion euros Allianz achieved the highest quarterly total revenues in its history, an increase of 6.6 percent from 30.1 billion euros in the first quarter of 2012. Operating profit grew 19.9 percent in the first quarter to 2.8 billion euros from 2.3 billion euros the year before.

Allianz's capital position also remained strong in the reporting period. The conglomerate solvency ratio decreased by 14 percentage points to 183 percent on March 31, 2013, from 197 percent on December 31, 2012. Excluding the negative impact of a change in accounting for pensions, the solvency ratio would have strengthened 2 percentage points over the year-end figure. Over the same period, shareholders’ equity increased 3.1 percent to 51.950 billion euros from 50.388 billion euros. With reference to the good capitalization of Allianz, in March 2013 the rating agency Standard & Poor's confirmed its “AA” rating and raised its outlook to “stable” from “negative”.

“This is a very encouraging start to the year. All segments are performing strongly thanks to our efforts in the previous years. Our customers profit as well, having received 25 billion euros in insurance benefits in the first quarter,” said Dieter Wemmer, Chief Financial Officer of Allianz SE.

“We are well positioned to grow both internally and externally. For example, with the agreed acquisition of the Turkish insurer Yap Kredi Sigorta, we expect to significantly strengthen our position in this important developing market,” said Michael Diekmann, CEO of Allianz SE. “We are confident that we will continue to grow profitably during the rest of 2013.