Insurance companies Helvetia with growth in the first half of the year
In the first half of 2024, insurance group Helvetia earned roughly the same amount as a year ago. The result was impacted by numerous storms in early summer. Meanwhile, the Group continued to grow.
05.09.2024, 07:21
SDA
Net profit rose slightly by 0.3% to CHF 259 million according to IRFS accounting, as Helvetia announced on Thursday. The Group now also publishes results underlying the insurance business, which are less volatile. Net profit fell by 1.6 percent to CHF 285 million.
Developments in the non-life business were characterized by numerous storms, with Switzerland being particularly affected. As a result, the combined ratio, an important indicator for the division, deteriorated by 1.4 percentage points to 95.4% compared to the previous year.
Growth continues
Helvetia continued to grow in the first half of the year. The Group's business volume increased by 3.6% to CHF 6.93 billion. Adjusted for exchange rate effects, growth even amounted to 4.7 per cent. In addition to Switzerland, Helvetia also operates in Germany, Italy, Austria and Spain.
Since the acquisition of Caser, which operates in the Spanish healthcare market, the fee-based business has become increasingly important. Fees increased by 8.4 percent to CHF 211 million in the reporting period. Fees are also generated from the sale of investment-linked pension products, for example.
Strategy update in December
Helvetia is sticking to the existing targets of the current program. The Group is making good progress towards the targets set. For example, the return on equity of 13.4 per cent in the first half of the year was at the upper end of the targeted range of 11 to 14 per cent.
In April, however, the new Group CEO Fabian Rupprecht announced that the strategy program, which will run until 2025, would be put to the test and the results presented in December.
