Allianz announced its results about a week before the official release date. The company achieved an operating profit of EUR 2.5 billion in the third quarter, compared with EUR 1.9 billion for the same comparison period last year. The operating results for all three business segments–life, property-casualty, and asset management–were very strong.
P&C benefited from a benign quarter of natural catastrophes and auto rate increases in Germany, while asset management continued a positive trend, with 5% increase in assets under management. Above all, Allianz remained very well capitalized. Its solvency ratio increased 4 percentage points from last quarter to 190%.
Allianz’s results in its asset management business were much better than we were anticipating. Better-thanexpected results came from PIMCO, which recorded robust inflows as institutional clients continued to allocate capital to bond funds, combined with solid performance across its other business segments to lift results higher during the quarter.
P&C premium income increased 1.8% after adjusting for foreign currency movements. Revenue growth was particularly strong in Latin America and Asia, as auto ownership continued to rise in these regions. The P&C segment benefited from positive pricing effects and a benign season of natural catastrophes. Lower claims helped improve the loss ratio to 96.3%.
The life insurance unit posted stable results. But low interest rates continue to be a major headwind, as the new business margin has been shrinking for the past four quarters.
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