Munich Re approves €1.25 billion payout; warns of competition
Munich Re shareholders have approved a €1.25 billion shareholder payout following the company’s third highest annual result of €3.3 billion in 2013.
On May 2, when the dividend payout reaches shareholders, the amount returned to shareholders since 2006 will total around €16 billion.
Speaking during the company’s Annual General Meeting in Munich, Company CEO, Nikolaus von Bomhard said that company was number one on the DAX and went on to predict a €900 million profit for Q1.
He said: “We have made a good start to the current year, partly because we were hardly affected by major losses. Altogether, the result for the first quarter should be around €900 million."
Von Bomhard said that while the company is still on track to reach its €3 billion target for 2014, he pointed out that the result for the first quarter should not be simply extrapolated to the year as a whole.
"This target is definitely ambitious, given the prospect that the return on our investments will fall further and our tax burden will revert to normal. But the target is achievable based on the quality and profitability of our core business,” he said.
"However, in the two rounds of renewals so far this year – most recently at the beginning of April – the effects of the keener competition were clearly apparent. We cannot completely detach ourselves from this trend.”
