Swiss Life reported an improved profit for the first half of the year, thanks to a boost from its asset-management division.
Swiss Life, which is based in Zurich, had a first-half profit of 500 million Swiss francs, up from the 493 million a year ago, the company said in a statement today.
The biggest improvement this year was achieved at the asset management division, which had an operating profit of 115 million francs, up 13 percent from a year earlier. Third-party business rose 84 percent to 27 million at the division.
Inflow of Assets
Commissions and fees also rose strongly, particularly in Germany. The fee result was up 16 percent to 194 million francs.
Net new assets from third-party business increased by 4.9 billion francs (4.2 billion a year ago), with assets under management for third parties reaching 44.4 billion at the end of June. Total assets under management rose 9 percent to 202.2 billion from a year ago.
Focus on Profitability
Operating profit at its core business, Swiss Life Switzerland, grew 2 percent to 420 million, with the fee result contributing 11 million as opposed to 2 million a year ago. The fee result in Germany expanded to 29 million euros from 21 million euros.
The premium income in local currency declined 9 percent to 10.1 billion francs, which was largely due to a focus on profitability and capital efficiency in a challenging market environment, Swiss Life said.
Resilient
«The macroeconomic conditions applying to our business will continue to test us,» said Patrick Frost, the CEO at Swiss Life, in the statement. «Nonetheless, the results from the first half of 2016 show that we can respond quickly to challenges.»
