Hannover Re expects its 2016 profits to exceed expectations

Hannover Re has said it expects to generate a net profit around €1.17 billion in 2016, a small increase on the €1.15 billion) it made in 2015. The company stressed that this will surpass its profit target of at least €950 million for the year.

It said the principal driver of this improved performance is a further improvement in the underwriting result in its property/casualty reinsurance division.

In addition, it noted that its tax rate for 2016 decreased to a normalised level because higher tax expenditure provisionally recognised in the previous year did not recur.

Its operating profit (EBIT) for 2016 amounts to roughly €1.69 billion compared with €1.76 billion a year earlier.

Its gross written premiums contracted €16.4 billion, a small decrease on the €17.1 billion it posted a year earlier.

The performance of Hannover Re also means it is the main contributor to the profits of its parent company Talanx, which has forecast a net profit of €900 million for the year. It said that, on the one hand, this results from lower than expected large losses in the group. On the other hand, special tax effects have also contributed to the improvement of the result.

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