Swiss Life Reports Increased Earnings

Posted on Aug 24, 2010 by Sergio Ulloa (G+)  | Tags: Q2 results, SwissLife

Swiss Life Group, a leading life insurance and pension provider in Switzerland, reported a 94% increase in net income for the first half of 2010. This was due to growth in premiums and newly implemented efficiency measures aimed at cutting operating costs. The revenue increase was reported in all of the major regional markets where the group operates, including Switzerland, France and Germany. During the first half of this year the net income of Swiss Life increased to US$253.3 million (EUR 200.4 million) from US$131 million (EUR 103.6 million) for the same period in 2009. The combined amount of gross premiums, policy fees and deposits increased 20% year-on-year to US$11.5 billion (EUR 9.1 billion). The strong performance by the company in the first half of 2010 was summarized in a statement released by Bruno Pfister, CEO of Swiss Life, by saying: "The improvements we achieved in client relations and distribution confirm that we have made sustainable progress in our pursuit of profitable growth. The measures introduced last year as part of our group-wide Milestone program have started to pay off." Last year, Swiss Life started the implementation of their new efficiency-enhancing policy, known as the "milestone" program, under which the company aims to increase new business within their "modern insurance and risk products" by more than 70%. The program can be considered a success for the company, as Swiss Life has achieved the 70% growth targeted by the policy - illustrated by the high returns the company experience during the first half of 2010 - in addition to reducing overall company-wide operating costs by 8%. All that is left for Swiss Life is to realize their margin management target, which remains at 0.9%, unchanged from 2009. Analysts speculate that the target set by the company in this regard may be difficult to reach, due to the prevailing low interest-rate environment in Europe and pressure from competition across the region. Citing low interest rates as a primary concern, Swiss Life has taken steps to limit their exposure to market risks, and have launched a new time-frame for the achievement of their margin management target - now aiming to see improvement by 2012. During the past 12 months the company has launched approximately 30 insurance products, conformed by a mixture of new and revitalized policies, and are still continuing their approach of achieving profitability before growth. Insurance Company mentioned: Swiss Life Swiss Life was founded in 1857 as Schweizerische Rentenanstalt. The Swiss Life Group is committed to openness and transparency in management and actively supports good corporate governance. Swiss Life is a leading life and pensions provider in Switzerland and it is one of the top 10 European life insurance providers. As at the end of 2009, the Swiss Life Group employed a staff of around 8200.