March 9 (SeeNews) - Slovenian reinsurer Sava Re [LJE:POSR] said on Thursday its 2016 consolidated net profit edged down 1.3% on the year to 32.9 million euro ($34.8 million) because of tax effects.
Group gross written premiums in 2016 grew to 490.2 million euro, up by 0.8% year-on-year, Sava Re said in a filing to the Ljubljana bourse.
Growth was driven by the non-life insurance business, which grew by 2.3% on the Slovenian insurance market and by 5.9% outside of Slovenia.
The group's life insurance premiums continued to decline modestly on the Slovenian market, shedding 0.2%, but grew by 10.9% on international markets.
In February, Sava Re said it is planning to achieve a consolidated net profit of 31 - 33 million euro in 2017, and a return on equity of over 10%. The company plans consolidated written gross premiums of 494 million euro this year.
Last year, Sava Re carried out a merger of its EU-based insurers. In November, the merged insurer Zavarovalnica Sava started operating in Slovenia and Croatia. This year, the company will focus on unlocking synergistic benefits, which will fully unfold in the coming years.
($=0.944215 euro)