Insurance companies Helvetia significantly increases profit in 2024
The insurer Helvetia significantly increased its profit in 2024. The Group benefited from significantly lower losses from natural disasters compared to the previous year.
06.03.2025, 07:25
SDA
Net profit according to IFRS accounting rose by 67% to CHF 502.4 million in the past financial year, as Helvetia announced on Thursday. The insurance company puts the underlying earnings at CHF 528.5 million, which corresponds to an increase of 42 percent. This figure is intended to show the development of the insurance business regardless of the volatility of the financial markets or other non-operational influences.
Investors should benefit from the profit trend with a further increase in the distribution: The dividend is to rise by 40 centimes to CHF 6.70.
Meanwhile, the insurer's business volume increased by 2.1 percent to CHF 11.55 billion last year. Adjusted for exchange rates, this resulted in growth of 3.1 percent.
In the non-life business, the insurer benefited not only from the favorable claims experience but also from an increase in business volume. This resulted in growth in all country segments, with growth in Switzerland and Austria outperforming the market, according to the report.
The combined ratio - the ratio of claims payments and costs to premiums earned - improved to 95.0 percent from 97.4 percent in the previous year.
With its annual figures, the insurance company exceeded analysts' expectations in terms of profit figures; they had forecast an average IFRS net profit of CHF 483.5 million. However, the dividend was expected to be slightly higher at CHF 6.76.
Helvetia also refers to its efficiency improvement program announced last December, which includes further measures to increase operational efficiency. The announced integration of Caser and Helvetia in Spain is progressing according to plan.
