Munich Re said it might beat its profit target for the year after first-quarter profit jumped amid benign expenditures to cover major losses and a strong investment result.
Net income rose to about €2.1 billion ($2.2 billion) in the three months through March, beating the €1.5 billion that analysts polled by the company had estimated.
Munich Re still aims to increase profit to €5 billion this year, up from €4.6 billion in 2023. Given first-quarter earnings, “surpassing this target has become more likely,” it said in a statement Tuesday.
Chief Executive Officer Joachim Wenning is in the middle of a five-year strategic plan that calls for higher earnings and organic growth. He stayed away from bigger acquisitions and turned around the primary insurance unit Ergo which had been a drag on results.
Munich Re’s “earnings diversification improved significantly in the past couple of years,” S&P Global Ratings said in note earlier this month, adding that Ergo’s earnings contribution stabilized and is gradually getting better.
Shares of the reinsurer rose 2.4% at 11:38 a.m. in Munich, bringing gains this year to 14%. Munich Re is scheduled to report detailed results for the first quarter on May 8.
Photograph: The headquarters of Munich Re in Munich, Germany. Photo credit: Guenter Schiffmann/Bloomberg
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