Mapfre shares fall 4.6% and Mapfre Re sees decline in profit

Mapfre Re reported a sharp fall in profit yesterday, hurt by an increase in claim frequency, and shares in Mapfre fell 4.6 percent despite strong growth for other parts of the company.

Net earnings at Mapfre Re for the nine months to September were €102 million, down 17.6 percent on a year earlier, hit by an increase in non-catastrophic claim frequency coming from the Mapfre Global Risks portfolio. Mapfre Re’s combined ratio rose 1.8 percentage points to 96.4 percent. However, its premium volume rose 7.6 percent to €4.08 billion.

Company-wide, Mapfre saw revenue in the first nine months of the fiscal year rise 6.5 percent to €21.62 billion. Premiums grew by 2.5 percent to €17.65 billion. The Group’s combined ratio improved by 1.7 percentage points, standing at 96.4 percent at the close of September.

Mapfre, based in Spain, said it had strength and profitable growth in its three main markets: Spain, Brazil and the United States.

In Spain, business was up 0.3 percent to €5.86 billion. Mapfre described growth in the automobile business in Spain as “noteworthy”. It rose 1.7 percent (compared with 1.4 percent growth for the sector) to €1.72 billion, with a 3 percent increase in the number of insured vehicles, to more than 5.9 million units.