(Reuters) — German reinsurer Munich Re beat its full-year profit target with a 16.7% profit despite Ukraine-related demands and after fourth-quarter net profit rose a better-than-expected 74% on share disposals and lower tax payments.
Jefferies analysts described the results as a “remarkable performance” given a challenging year with claims from Hurricane Ian in Florida, continued pandemic losses and high inflation.
The company’s shares fell 3.7% in early trading, which JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank analysts attributed to profit-taking.
“Munich Re absorbed the crises of 2022 well,” said CEO Joachim Wenning.
Fourth-quarter net profit rose to 1
.516 billion euros ($1.61 billion), beating analysts’ expectations of 1.399 billion euros.For the full year, its profit of 3.419 billion euros beat both analyst and company expectations of around 3.3 billion euros.
Munich Re had announced on Wednesday that it would raise its dividend and buy back more shares.
Hurricane Ian and flooding in Australia helped make 2022 one of the costliest years on record for natural disasters, Munich Re said last month, warning that climate change was making storms more intense and frequent.
Source link
