Munich Re posts lower net result in first quarter

Top reinsurer Munich Re published financial results for January to March 2023 – the quarter in which the company used the new accounting standards IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) 9 and 17 for the first time.

According to Munich Re, here’s how it fared at the time, including contributions from life and health and property casualty:

Lifting the lid on the figures, Munich Re said: “In Q1 2023, Munich Re generated a net result of € 1,271 million. While the result in Q1 of the previous year was strengthened mainly by lower major losses in property-casualty reinsurance, as well as cash profits, the result of the first quarter of 2023 was affected by exactly the opposite effects.

“Insurance income from insurance contracts issued increased to € 14,273 million. The total technical result amounted to € 1,809 million. Due mainly to currency losses against the US dollar and the Canadian dollar , the cash result fell to -€145 million.The operating result was €1,768 million and the effective tax rate was 26.4%.

To illustrate, chief financial officer Christoph Jurecka cited the Turkey-Syria earthquake.

“The earthquake that hit Turkey on the Syrian border in February 2023 was one of the most catastrophic we have seen in recent history,” he said. “About 60,000 people lost their lives. Insured losses amount to around €4 billion to €5 billion, of which Munich Re bears €0.6 billion – one of the reasons why major losses from natural disasters in Q1 2023 are higher than as expected.

“Due to an otherwise unsatisfying operating performance and a strong investment result, however, Munich Re generated a net result of around €1.3 billion. In addition, changes in April saw “Munich Re is continuing the pace of revenue growth. Accordingly, we are confident that we will reach our 2023 net result guidance of €4 billion; the chances of us exceeding this target have increased.”

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