“Allianz SE (ALV), Europe’s biggest insurer, said fourth-quarter net income more than doubled after profit from property and casualty insurance unexpectedly rose and year-earlier writedowns weren’t repeated.
Net income advanced to 1.22 billion euros ($1.6 billion) from 492 million euros in the fourth quarter of 2011, the Munich-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. Allianz was expected to earn 1.15 billion euros, according to the average estimate of 11 analysts in a Bloomberg survey.
“I am encouraged by our healthy growth in premiums, especially by recoveries in key European markets,” Chief Financial Officer Dieter Wemmer said in the statement. “This development shows that we are an attractive risk partner.”
European insurers such as Allianz, Axa SA (CS) and Prudential Plc (PRU) benefited from higher prices for some of their products last year after earnings in 2011 were hurt by record losses from natural catastrophes. A recovery in financial markets also helped bring an increase in investment income, outweighing the impact of lower interest rates.
Operating profit in property and casualty insurance rose to 1.26 billion euros in the fourth quarter from 1.09 billion euros a year earlier, beating the 941 million-euro median estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Gross written premiums increased 4.7 percent in 2012 as a whole.
The company will propose paying a dividend of 4.50 euros a share from last year’s profit, Diekmann said.
Profit Forecast
Allianz expects to have an operating profit of 9.2 billion euros this year, plus or minus 500 million euros. Operating profit was 9.5 billion euros last year, which matched a target for more than 9 billion euros, the company said….”
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