Talanx this autumn profit Rose 17% on Measures to Restructure German Retail division

Talanx AG, Germany’s 0.33-largest insurer, said fourth-region income rose 17 percent helped via funding profits as it sought to restructure its German retail division.

net income improved to 239 million euros ($259 million) from 203 million euros a 12 months in advance, the Hanover, Germany- based insurer said in a statement. That compared with a 222 million-euro estimate of six analysts surveyed by means of Bloomberg.

The company, led by way of leader govt Officer Herbert Haas, 60, showed a full-yr income goal of at least seven hundred million euros after remaining yr’s internet earnings of 769 million euros beat a goal set by using the organisation for at the least seven-hundred million euros. Talanx additionally said it “carried out measures to reinforce the balance sheet” at its German retail unit led with the aid of Jan Martin Wicke.

This yr “will be one of the most difficult years in a long time, with falling capital market returns and smooth markets in business insurance and reinsurance,” CEO Haas said in the declaration. “some other task will be the long-time period restructuring of the retail Germany phase.”

Measures to bolster capital on the German retail unit including adjustments on the price of German existence coverage portfolios protected in fourth-area profits of 290 million euros “had been in large part financed” by using gains of 214 million euros from the sale of Talanx’s final stocks in Zurich-primarily based Swiss lifestyles keeping AG, the employer stated.

The insurer plans to pay a dividend of one.25 euros a share for 2014, as compared with 1.20 euros a share paid out for 2013.

Hannover Re, the arena’s third-biggest reinsurer and 50.2 percentage owned by Talanx, said on March 10 it plans to pay a special dividend after fourth-quarter earnings rose extra than analysts estimated, helped by low catastrophe claims.

Talanx stocks received 23 percent this year valuing the company at 7.9 billion euros. The Bloomberg Europe 500 insurance Index climbed 21 percent in the duration.