GENERALI OPERATING PROFIT BOOSTED BY IMPROVED LOSS RATIO

Italian insurance giant Generali posted a 9.5% increase in first-half operating profit, to €2.5bn, supported by improving performance in all its lines of business. However, net profit remained relatively stable compared to the first-half of last year, at €1.07bn, owing in part to a €113m loss on the recent sale of Swiss banking unit BSI, and to a €190m impairment on its stake in Russian insurer Ingosstrakh. In property/casualty (p/c), Generali enjoyed a 14.8% improvement in operating profit, to €1bn, thanks to a 25% increase in technical result, which the group attributed to a lower loss ratio, down 1.4 points to 65.7%, and cost containment measures. Generali’s combined ratio improved by 1.8 points compared to the first half of 2013, to 92.8%. Natural catastrophe costs totalled €128m in the first half, representing 1.3 points of combined ratio.