Major international insurance group
Allianz announced Wednesday that it was confident enough to meet its full-year targets, having posted robust results for the first quarter of the year.
"The first quarter represented a great start to the year," remarked chief financial officer Dieter Wemmer. "We are well on our way towards achieving our operating profit target in the range of 10.5 billion euros ($11.9 billion), plus or minus 500 million euros for the entire year."
The company’s net profit increased by 20.5% to 2.2 billion euros for Q1 2016; Allianz credited this growth to non-operating gains.
For the same period, Allianz’s underlying or operating profit fell by 3.5% to 2.8 billion euros. Revenues also dipped by 6.4% to 35.4 billion euros.
The company is reeling from the effects of low interest rates, reported
France 24. Due to lower interest rates, the insurance group has found it difficult to offer their clients appealing returns on investments.
Allianz reported “a substantial improvement compared to the previous year” for its property and casualty division. The insurer has credited this to lesser claims related to natural catastrophes being made.
The insurer’s life and health divisions posted a decline of total revenues. Allianz said that the fall was likely the result of product strategy changes.
