FRANKFURT German insurer on Wednesday posted a 29% fall in net profit in the second quarter from a year earlier and shied away from updating its full-year profit guidance as the coronavirus pandemic slows business and clouds the outlook.
Allianz is one of many European insurers warning about the outlook as clients claim for business interruption and cancelled events, while demand for car and travel insurance has fallen.
Net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.53 billion euros ($1.81 billion) in the three months through June compares with 2.14 billion euros a year earlier. It was higher than a 1.48 billion euro consensus forecast.
“Due to the continuing uncertainties we currently do not give an updated operating profit outlook for 2020,” the company said.
Earlier this year, the German insurer abandoned its 2020 profit target of between 11.5 billion euros and 12.5 billion euros, blaming economic uncertainty resulting from the pandemic, and said it expects to post the first annual decline in profit in nearly a decade.
Chief Executive Oliver Baete nevertheless said he was confident of a “solid financial performance” in the second half of the year.
Allianz’s combined ratio, a measure of profitability for its property and casualty division, one of its highest revenue earners, worsened to 95.5% in the second quarter, up from 94.3%percentage points from a year earlier. Readings below 100% indicate profitability.
($1 = 0.8465 euros)
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