Munich Re reported that GWP for its property/casualty business increased 0.7% to €1.9bn in the first quarter of 2004.
It said the reported profit of €534m for the quarter represented a solid start to the year, and demonstrated that the company had turned itself around.
Including all businesses, gross written premiums fell 4.3% to €10.4bn, down from the €10.8bn recorded for the first quarter of 2003. Munich Re said the drop was affected by changing exchange rates.
The €534m in profit, up from a loss of €557m for the first three months of 2003, was well within the company's plan, it said.
For the company's primary insurance operations, total gross written premiums fell 1.4% from €5bn in 2003 to €4.9bn in 2004.
Of this total, GWP for its life and health business fell 2.6% to €3bn, and GWP for the property/casualty business increased 0.7% to €1.9bn. The first quarter combined ratio for property/casualty was 95.4%.
Munich Re said it continued to consistently pursue its profit-oriented underwriting strategy. After several years of high growth rates (1999-2003: 8.1% on average), it said it expected its premium volume for the current business year to be hardly changed.
The company said it was maintaining its target of achieving a profit of €2bn for the year.
“The solid first-quarter results illustrate that we are on the right track,” said board member Jörg Schneider.
