Allianz Reports Strong First Half of 2023 Despite Challenges in Certain Areas

Allianz can look back on a successful first half of 2023, as can be seen from the business figures now presented for the period. In the first six months of this year, Europe’s largest insurer recorded a year-on-year increase in operating profit of 14.9 percent to EUR 7.5 billion and by 7.1 percent to EUR 3.8 billion in the months of April to June. The drivers of the developments were the lines of property and casualty insurance, while the life insurance business in Germany and the asset management area with the subsidiaries Pimco and Allianz Global Investors weakened.

The two group asset managers were able to increase the assets managed for third parties by EUR 27 billion to EUR 1.662 trillion in the first half of the year compared to the beginning of the year. However, despite cash inflows, it fell by six billion euros in the second quarter due to negative currency effects. Total assets under management stood at 2.163 trillion euros at the end of the second quarter, down 11 billion euros from the end of the first quarter of 2023 – including net outflows of 5.9 billion euros.

Cost/income ratio increased
This has an impact on profits: the operating result in asset management was 1.4 billion euros at the end of the first half of the year, 11.1 percent below the same period last year. In the second quarter, the insurer only recorded a result of 703 million euros here, nine percent below the same period last year. The cost-income ratio, which is important for asset managers, rose to 62.3 percent in the first six months (60.7 percent in mid-2022). In other words, Allianz spent around 62 cents to earn one euro.

In the area of ​​life and health insurance, the financial service provider was able to increase its profit, but only thanks to developments in the USA. Operating profit climbed to 2.5 billion euros in the first half of the year, after 1.8 billion euros in the same period last year, because investments in the USA yielded higher profits. In contrast, the so-called PVNBP, the present value of new business premiums, fell to EUR 36.2 billion in the first half of the year due to lower premiums from Germany and Italy (EUR 37.6 billion in the first half of 2022). Although the PVNBP rose in the second quarter (EUR 17.7 billion versus EUR 16.5 billion in Q2 2022), this was only due to the strong US business, which offset lower new premiums from Germany and Italy due to “cyclical influences”. (jb)