French reinsurer SCOR made a strong start to 2015; posting consolidated net income in the first quarter of €175 million [$196 million], a 29.6 percent gain from the €135 million [$151.3 million] in Q1 2014.
SCOR listed its earnings highlights for the period as follows:
— Gross written premiums reached €3.124 billion [$3.5 billion], up 17.0 percent at current exchange rates compared to 2014 (+5.1 percent at constant exchange rates), “driven by the contribution of the two business engines, SCOR Global P&C and SCOR Global Life.”
— SCOR Global P&C gross written premiums increased by 16.3 percent at current exchange rates (+5.2 percent at constant exchange rates) to €1.398 billion [$1.567 billion];
— SCOR Global Life gross written premiums reached €1.726 billion [$1.935 billion], up by 17.7 percent at current exchange rates (+5.0 percent at constant exchange rates).
— SCOR Global P&C delivered strong Q1 2015 technical profitability with a net combined ratio of 89.1 percent, compared to 88.9 percent in Q1 2014, in an environment of low natural catastrophe losses.
— SCOR Global Life’s technical margin stands at 7.2 percent for the first three months of 2015, compared to 7.3 percent for the same period in 2014.
— As announced today, SCOR Global Life’s Market Consistent Embedded Value (MCEV) reached €4.7 billion [$5.27 billion] in 2014 (€25.50 per share [$28.59]), up 6.2 percent compared to 2013.
— SCOR Global Investments achieved an enhanced 3.5 percent return on invested assets thanks to its active portfolio management, in an historically low yield environment.
— Annualized Return on equity (ROE) stands at 12.1 percent.
— Shareholders’ equity increased by 12 percent over the quarter to reach €6.415 billion [$7.192 billion] at 31 March 2015, compared to €5.729 billion [$6.424 billion] at 31 December 2014, translating into a book value per share of €34.35 [$38.53] at 31 March 2015, compared to €30.60 [$34.32] at 31 December 2014. The strong net income contribution and very strong foreign exchange impact (of around €414 million [$464]) were the main drivers for the increase.
— SCOR’s 2015 solvency ratio, as defined by the 2014 internal model, stands at 224 percent, marginally above the optimal range as defined in the “Optimal Dynamics” plan.
• SCOR’s financial leverage decreased to 20.8 percent at 31 March 2015, compared to 23.1 percent at 31 December 2014.
SCOR’s Chairman & CEO Denis Kessler commented: “The very high quality results recorded by SCOR in the first quarter of 2015 confirm the relevance of the strategic orientations chosen. The Group’s business continued to expand in the first quarter, delivering strong technical results for both SCOR Global Life and SCOR Global P&C.
“With the positive P&C renewals in January and April, the expansion of SCOR Global Life and the continuation of SCOR Global Investments’ active asset management policy, the Group once again demonstrates that its business model enables it to achieve its profitability and solvency objectives, as set out in the ‘Optimal Dynamics’ plan.”
Source: SCOR Group