For the fourth quarter of 2019 alone, the group's net income attributable to shareholders grew 9.5% to EUR 1.9 billion, due to an improved non-operating result.
- Total revenues: EUR 142.4 billion (+7.6%), of which:
- Property & Casualty (P&C): EUR 59.2 billion (+6.8%)
- Life & Health (L&H): EUR 76.4 billion (+8.5%)
- Asset Management: EUR 7.2 billion (+6.4%)
- Corporate and Other: EUR 0.2 billion (-12.9%)
- Operating profit / loss: EUR 11,855 million (+3.0%), of which:
- Property & Casualty (P&C): EUR 5,045 million (-11.9%)
- Life & Health (L&H): EUR 4,708 million (+13.4%)
- Asset Management: EUR 2,704 million (+6.9%)
- Corporate and Other: EUR (602) million (FY2018: EUR (831) million)
- L&H value of new business: EUR 2,167 million (+3.8%)
- L&H new business margin: 3.2% (-0.3 pp.)
- P&C combined ratio: 95.5% (+1.5 pp.)
- Asset Management cost-income ratio: 62.3% (-0.2 pp.)
- Return on equity: 13.6% (+0.4 pp.)
- Solvency II capitalization ratio: 212% (-17 pp.)
- Net income (attributable to shareholders): EUR 7,914 million (+6.1%)
For the 2019 financial year, Allianz Group's consolidated revenues increased by 7.6% to EUR 142.4 billion. Property &Casualty revenues rose to EUR 59.2 billion (+6.8%), Life & Health revenues went up to EUR 76.4 billion (+8.5%), while Asset Management revenues were EUR 7.2 million, increasing year-on-year as well (+6.4%).
Operating profit grew 3.0% to EUR 11.9 billion, being in the upper half of the Group's announced target range of 11.0 to 12.0 billion euros.
P&C operating profit decreased by 11.9% to EUR 5.0 billion, its development being driven by the underwriting result, due to a strengthening of reserves at AGCS, partly offset by an improved expense ratio. Lower operating investment income also affected this branch 2019 figures.
L&H operating profit rose to EUR 4.7 billion, mainly due to an improved investment margin, driven by lower impairments and higher realizations predominantly in France and Germany. Other contributing effects included a change in the deferred acquisition cost amortization period for fixed index annuities in the United States, as well as higher volume growth in the German and U.S. life business, and in the Asia-Pacific region.
Asset Management operating profit increased by 6.9% to EUR 2.7 billion. This development was mostly driven by higher average third-party AuM, mainly at PIMCO, due to strong market effects and net inflows, supported by positive foreign currency translation effects.
The Property & Casualty combined ratio deteriorated by 1.5 percentage points to 95.5%. P&C segment performed below Allianz's expectations for 2019, following a "disappointing" reserve strengthening at AGCS that overcompensated for a solid accident year, underwriting and productivity gains. Allianz remains committed to improving the combined ratio to 93% by the end of 2021.
Life & Health insurance PVNBP (present value of new business premiums), increased to EUR 67.0 billion in 2019. This mainly resulted from the higher sales of capital-efficient products in the German life business, and in business with non-traditional variable annuities in the United States. The NBM (new-business margin) decreased in 2019 to 3.2% (FY2018: 3.6%) due to the impact of lower interest rates, which was partly offset by management actions and a more favorable business mix. The VNB (value of new business) grew to EUR 2.2 billion in 2019, driven by the increase in sales and the continued shift to preferred lines of business outweighing the negative effects from the worsening of the interest rate environment.
Total assets under management increased to EUR 2,268 billion. Third-party assets under management (AuM) increased by EUR 250 billion to EUR 1,686 billion compared to the end of 2018, marking an all-time high. All influencing effects were positive: positive market effects of EUR 138.6 billion and net inflows of EUR 75.8 billion. The cost-income ratio (CIR) decreased slightly by 0.2 percentage points to 62.3% in 2019 due to higher operating revenue growth compared to a lower increase in operating expenses.
Basic Earnings per Share (EPS) increased 8.4% in 2019 to a record EUR 18.90. Return on Equity (RoE) grew to 13.6% (+0.4 pp.), the highest level of the last ten years.
The Solvency II capitalization ratio amounted to 212% at end-2019, compared to 229% at the end of 2018.
Allianz completed its fourth share buy-back program on July 30, 2019, with a total volume of EUR 1.5 billion and 7.3 million shares. All repurchased shares have been cancelled. On February 20, 2020, Allianz has announced a new share buy-back program of up to EUR 1.5 billion that is to be completed by the end of the year.
"2019 was another successful year with record results for the Allianz Group. This reflects the trust of customers and shareholders and the engagement of our excellent people. Allianz continued to make important strategic strides in 2019 like our acquisitions in the UK and Brazil and being awarded the first fully foreign-owned insurance holding in China. We also contribute to society: As one of the initiators of the newly launched UN-convened Asset Owner Alliance we committed to transition our own investment portfolios to net-zero by 2050."
Giulio Terzariol, Chief Financial Officer of Allianz SE, commented:
"Allianz had a successful financial year 2019, with operating profit of 11.9 billion euros in the upper half of the Group's announced operating profit target range. Active risk management led to a strong Solvency II capitalization ratio of 212 percent, showing the Group's resilience in today's negative interest rate environment and providing a safe haven to our customers and shareholders. We look to generate 12 billion euros in operating profit in 2020, plus or minus 500 million euros - barring unforeseen events, crises or natural catastrophes."
More financial information about Allianz can be found at allianz.com/en/investor_relations.
Source: allianz.com
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