ZURICH--Zurich Insurance Group AG (ZURN.VX) said Thursday profit
for the first nine months of the year rose 3% compared with the
same period of 2013, though the figure slipped during the most
recent quarter due to a "tougher" environment.
Zurich said operating profit for general insurance, the firm's
largest business, rose 12% to $2.4 billion in the first nine months
of 2014, thanks to a reduced level of catastrophes and industrial
losses. The general insurance business saw gross written premiums
rise 1% to $28.4 billion, Zurich said.
Operating profit at the global life business fell slightly to
$965 million in the first nine months.
Zurich's financial report comes as the firm has been cutting
jobs and has exited businesses in Russia and Hong Kong in a bid to
restructure and reduce costs.
Overall, Zurich reported that profit in the first nine months
rose to $3 billion. However, profit in the third quarter of the
year ended in September fell 16% to $928 million. Return on
shareholder equity was flat for the first nine months, but dipped
2.9 percentage points in the third quarter compared to the period
last year, to 12.3%.
"While we continue to make progress, we recognize the
environment is getting tougher, underlining the need for us to
remain focused on our strategic approach," the company said in a
statement.
The company's combined ratio, a measure of how much is paid out
on claims and other costs per dollar earned, improved 1.2
percentage points to 96.6% for the first nine months. A ratio of
less than 100% means an insurer is wringing profits from its core
underwriting business.
-- Write to John Letzing at john.letzing@wsj.com
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