MILAN (Reuters) – First-quarter profits at Italy’s top insurer Generali beat analysts’ expectations due to the positive contribution from the non-life and asset management businesses and as the life segment proved resilient despite low interest rates.
Operating profit, the figure most closely watched by the market, stood at 1.6 billion euros ($1.95 billion) in the quarter, up 11% compared with the same period last year and above a company-provided analyst consensus of 1.48 billion euros.
“The rebalancing of the life business mix continues, allowing us to maintain excellent profitability in the current low interest rate environment,” Finance Chief Cristiano Borean said in a statement.
Generali’s solvency ratio, which measures capital strength under European Union risk-measurement rules, stood at 234%, up from 224% at end of December, due to “excellent capital generation and positive market performance”, the company said.
The insurer confirmed the targets of its business plan to 2021, including a projected average annual growth in earnings per share of between 6% and 8%, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
($1 = 0.8221 euros)
(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; editing by Agnieszka Flak)
