Munich Re Backs Profit Guidance After Wide Quarterly Beat

By Elena Vardon

Munich Re confirmed its net profit guidance for the year after reporting a much better-than-expected first quarter given below-average major-loss expenditure, better return on investment and good operational performance.

The German reinsurer on Wednesday posted net profit for the first three months of 2024 of 2.14 billion euros ($2.30 billion), in line with preliminary figures. This compares with EUR1.27 billion reported for the same period the previous year and beat estimates taken from a company-compiled consensus of EUR1.48 billion.

Insurance revenue from insurance contracts issued increased to EUR15.06 billion, surpassing consensus of EUR14.9 billion, it said. Its investment result came in at EUR2.16 billion, well ahead of the expected EUR1.51 billion figure, and represented a return on investment of 3.8% .

"We still expect to generate a profit of EUR5 billion in 2024. In fact, it has become more likely that we will surpass that target," its finance chief, Christoph Jurecka, said. The group anticipates sustained advantageous business opportunities in the coming quarters, it said.

Write to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 08, 2024 02:01 ET (06:01 GMT)

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