May 2 (SeeNews) - Austrian insurance group UNIQA said on Wednesday its operations on the markets of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) recorded the highest annual growth rate last year since the company started operations on those markets.
The premium income of UNIQA International, which comprises 15 CEE countries, increased by 14.9% year-on-year to 1.6 billion euro ($1.92 billion) in 2017, the company said in a statement.
"We expect 5-6% annual growth in premium income in CEE in the next few years," Wolfgang Kindl, CEO of UNIQA International said in the statement.
UNIQA's operating profit in CEE grew by 39.5% to 50.4 million euro in 2017.
"Our business in CEE not only supports our growth, but affects our revenue growth in all markets. As a result, we have more uncomplicated and more efficient sales structures and even more balanced product portfolio," Kindl said.
The CEO also said that UNIQA International are constantly considering new opportunities for acquisitions and cooperation in the CEE region.
In CEE, UNIQA International is operating in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, as well as Ukraine, Russia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)