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May
16
Allianz optimistic about 2012 development
Posted on May 16, 2012 by Sergio Ulloa (G+)
The Allianz Group has a rich history dating back to 1890 and prides itself on being able to offer solutions in insurance, banking and asset management areas. Insurance wise, Allianz thrives in Europe and has especially excelled itself in the German market. 2012 has started off in a positive direction for the company and CEO Michael Diekmann sees this trend continuing for the rest of the year. On May 15th, Allianz was able to confirm their total profit target of 11.1 billion US dollars (8.7 billion euros) for the end of the year, after results from their first quarter net income showed a profit increase of at least 53%. Almost all regions have assisted Allianz in this growth but the Australian and Asian-pacific sectors in particular have performed significantly well so far. All three components that make up the Allianz group have contributed to this increase but it is in the insurance sector where such increases are most noticeable and are enabling the company to stay on track towards reaching their set target. In terms of shares, since December 31st 2011, Shareholders' equity reported a growth of 7.4% meaning an increase from 58.2 billion US (44.915 billion Euros) to 61.4 billion US dollars (48.245 billion Euros). Furthermore, as of last week, Allianz will now be welcomed to list their stock on the Chinese markets and thus continue their growth across Asia. It appears Allianz are benefiting from the impact of the many natural disasters that occurred last year and have been able to push higher prices for coverage in property and casualty insurance - an area of high importance when profit is concerned. The company's CFO Oliver Baete reported that as the impacts of natural catastrophes appear to be increasing in frequency and damage, Allianz has increased their budget for 2012 as a response. Aon Benfield, the world's biggest reinsurance broker has estimated that so far, natural disasters have cost insurers and reinsurers less than US$ 3 billion in losses, an almost insignificant figure when compared to the staggering US$ 53 billion the previous year. 2011 definitely deserves the title of most costly year on record with earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and tornadoes all making for a very difficult time for the entire insurance industry. This time last year, both the New Zealand and Japan earthquake with its tsunami aftermath had already struck massive blows to the insurance industry and contributed to a massive total of 60 billion US-dollars in losses. By contrast, 2012 has experienced a lesser impact from natural catastrophes and as a result, Allianz has shown significant improvement in Property and Casualty as well as Life and Health insurance with a 50% increase in net income. This has enabled the company to reach their second-highest revenue level in history and brought in an impressive figure of 38.3 US dollars (30.1 billion euros) compared to 38 billion US dollars (29.9 billion) the same time last year. Of course natural disasters are not the company's only concern. Volatile Markets continue to decrease interest rates and the sovereign debt crisis remains an ongoing issue but Allianz prioritises the monitoring and analyzing of such challenges and believes they can continue to expect an operating profit of 8.2 billion euros to ensure a profitable growth. Allianz has clearly managed to keep their head above water even when faced with disasters of huge proportions and their confident solutions in times of crisis are amongst the number of factors enabling them to stay ahead of their European competition.