LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), May 16 (SeeNews) – Slovenian reinsurer Sava Re said said on Thursday that the consolidated net profit of its Sava Insurance Group rose to 10.9 million euro ($12.2 million) in the first quarter of 2019, from 4.6 million euro a year earlier.
The group's consolidated gross written premiums rose 2.8% on the year to 171.6 million euro in the first quarter, while its operating revenue increased 7.2% to 130.6 million euro, Sava Re, the ultimate parent company of the Sava Insurance Group, said in a filing to the Ljubljana Stock Exchange.
The growth in gross premiums written was contributed by reinsurance business (6.5% growth), non-Slovenian non-life insurance (12.3% growth) and Slovenian life business (2.6% growth), while Slovenian non-life gross premiums and non-Slovenian life business remained at about the year-earlier level.
The rise in operating revenues was driven by higher net premiums earned by existing insurance companies (6.7%) and also by the revenues of the new group members acquired during 2018.
“Thus, in the first quarter of the year, the Group wrote 30.8% of the premiums planned for 2019.”
Elsewhere in Southeast Europe, the Sava Insurance Group has operations in Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Croatia.
The Sava Insurance Group continues its strategy regarding acquisitions-based growth. On February 27, Zavarovalnica Sava, 100% owned by Sava Re, satisfied all suspensive conditions, becoming the sole owner of Croatian insurers ERGO Osiguranje d.d. and ERGO Zivotno Osiguranje d.d. The acquisition of the asset manager KBM Infond, Druzba d.o.o. is still underway and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of the year.
Sava Re said in a separate statement on Thursday it has decided to change its umbrella brand name Sava Re Group to Sava Insurance Group to test the strength of the brand that best describes the group.
"The new umbrella brand will first be used in the first-quarter financial report 2019," the company said.
($ = 0.89253 euro)