ST.GALLEN, Switzerland, May 7, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The non-life business took again last year advantage of its excellent portfolio quality. A good loss experience, a cautious underwriting policy and a strict cost management all contributed to the renewed reduction of the net combined ratio that decreased from 99.9 per cent to 98.4 per cent. The life business generated a significantly improved result thanks to the again normalised level of investment income as well as the steps initiated to increase profitability. The difficult conditions in the Swiss group life business caused its growth to be deliberately slowed down. The reduction in the minimum interest rate and especially the cost savings were instrumental in achieving a now balanced sector result after the severe loss in the previous year. The investment business gained last year again from the improved conditions on the international stock markets as well as from the strengthened Euro.
The non-underwriting result improved from a loss of CHF 343.1 million in 2002 to a profit of CHF 76.4 million. Assets under management rose by 7.1 percentage points to CHF 25.5 billion and reflect the great confidence the customers are placing in Helvetia Patria.
Re-election of Board Members
The Members of the Board, Messrs Peter Wagner and Erich Walser (Chairman), whose re-election in rotation was recommended, have been reconfirmed by the Shareholders' Meeting for another three-year term of office. The 693 shareholders, who represented a total of 73.9 per cent of the share capital, also passed by a large majority all other proposals recommended by the Board of Directors.
Profitability takes precedence over growth
Erich Walser, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, referred in his Chairman's address to the importance of the underwriting result. Following its strategy Helvetia Patria will even more concentrate on the profitable business. "Sustainable increase of the profitability is the focus of our attention," notes Erich Walser. "We intend to work consistently also in the future on further increasing the value of our company."
Please contact for more information: Helvetia Patria Group Daniel Schlapfer Phone: +41 71 493 5448 Corporate Communications Fax: +41 71 493 5589 Dufourstrasse 40 daniel.schlaepfer@helvetiapatria.ch CH-9001 St.Gallen www.helvetiapatria.com
The Helvetia Patria Group
The Helvetia Patria is a Europe-wide active insurance services Group with core competencies in risk management (life and non-life insurance business, reinsurance) as well as in private pensions. The Group is active in Central and Southern Europe through its regional offices, subsidiaries and associated companies. The Group headquarters are located in St.Gallen/Switzerland while the headquarters for Switzerland are in Basle. More than 4 700 employees are providing services to more than two million customers in six European countries. About 2 300 employees are working for the insurer in Switzerland. The Group generated a premium volume of over CHF 5.3 billion in 2003 and a net profit of CHF 92.4 million. The registered shares of Helvetia Patria Holding are part of the Swiss performance Index (SPI) and are traded at the Swiss Stock Exchange (SWX) under the symbol HEPN.
PDF:
http://www.newsbox.ch/public/841/att/772_shareholdersmeetingofhelvetiapatriaholding.pdf
DESCRIPTION: Shareholders' Meeting of Helvetia Patria Holding