Gains from investments have caused the largest insurer in Switzerland to see a huge fourth quarter profit rise.
The biggest insurer in Switzerland, Zurich, has made an insurance news announcement that its fourth quarter profits experienced an increase of 82 percent as a result of higher investment capital gains.
The insurer’s net income experienced a massive growth when compared to the same time the year before.
The net income that was reported by Zurich was $983 million. This was a considerable year over year increase, as the same time in 2011 showed a net income of $540. These figures were released in an insurance news statement on Thursday. This data far exceeded the average estimate of $521.1 million that was anticipated by the 13 industry analysts that Bloomberg had surveyed.
The insurance news revealed that Zurich’s results were far better than had been anticipated.
However, a Helvea analyst, Daniel Bischof, pointed out that “Results were better than expected, but only on the bottom line, which was clearly due to higher realized capital gains”. Bischof went on to point out that “For me the operating profit is more important, and there they were rather disappointing because of the general insurance business.”
The operating profits at Zurich fell considerably in a year over year comparison. Equally, the net capital gains that were experienced on their investments reached $2.2 billion last year. This was primarily driven by equity securities and the sale of debts.
Within the insurance news statement that the insurer released, the chief executive officer of the company, Martin Senn, pointed out that they are maintaining the execution of their “proven strategy”, and they are working to continue the growth of their business within various emerging marketplaces. Senn explained that they are doing this while they continue a strong performance within the markets with more maturity.
Senn also added to his insurance news statement by saying that the powerful profitability that is supporting the insurer’s strategy allows them to keep themselves well positioned to be able to continue to provide for their customers as well as their employees and their shareholders throughout this year.