NN Group NV, the largest Dutch insurance company, posted a 2020 operating profit of €1.89 billion (about US$2.28 billion), exceeding expectations on the back of improved investment margins and the easing of the impact of COVID-19 in the second half of the year.

The company’s annual profit exceeded the €1.79 billion reported for 2019 and beat average analyst estimates of €1.7 billion, according to a Reuters report.

NN Group CEO David Knibbe said it was a “strong financial and commercial performance, even though it clearly was an unprecedented year.”

The company’s operating profit in the second half rose 9% year-over-year, and its largest division, life insurance in the Netherlands, benefited from higher-yielding assets, Reuters reported.

NN Group’s second-half operating profit in the life insurance division rose 26% to €500 million.

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The company also benefited from higher investment gains and lower impairments in its full-year investment portfolio, Reuters reported. The portfolio netted out to €472 million, a spike from €241 million in 2019.

NN Group proposed a final dividend of €2.33 per share, up 7.9% from 2019, and announced a share buyback program of €250 million, according to Reuters.