Allianz is lifting payouts to shareholders by 12.5 percent after reporting the highest operating profit in its 129 years of history as it boosted efficiency at its property-casualty unit, hiked premiums and benefited from fewer natural catastrophe claims.
The insurer on Friday will increase its dividend by €1 to €9, slightly more than expected by analysts. On Thursday evening, the Munich-based company also announced a fourth share buyback program worth €1.5bn.
The group’s full-year operating profit rose 3.7 percent to €11.5bn, in line with analyst expectations and at the upper end of its target range.
Return on equity rose 140 basis points to 13.2 percent while the Solvency II ratio – a key measure of balance sheet strength – was unchanged at 229 percent.
“I am very proud of the global Allianz family for delivering such a great set of results”, chief executive Oliver Bäte said in a statement.
Allianz aims to increase operating profit by around 4 percent this year. It lifted its target corridor for that measure by €400m to between €11bn and €12bn.
“Our healthy and well-diversified business makes us confident that we will continue to deliver a strong financial performance again this year,” finance chief Giulio Terzariol said in a statement.