Switzerland’s biggest life insurer had a much higher profit last year than a year earlier, with substantially higher fee and premium revenues. Shareholders will benefit from the company’s successful business.
Swiss Life is in good shape. The Zurich-based company increased net income by 9 percent to 1.01 billion Swiss francs, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
Premiums rose 6 percent to 18.6 billion francs. The net investment yield declined to 2.5 percent from 3.3 percent. The direct investment income from insurance business was flat at 4.3 billion francs.
Ahead of Schedule
Swiss Life’s fee income rose 8 percent to 1.48 billion francs and the fee result increased by 11 percent to 442 million francs, achieving its target defined in «Swiss Life 2018» a year ahead of schedule.
Based on the positive development of its business, Swiss Life intends to increase the dividend to 13.50 francs per share from 11 francs a year ago.
German Business Boost
«We are either on or ahead of schedule to achieve all our targets,» said Patrick Frost, CEO of Swiss Life, in the statement.
Swiss Life improved the result in the home market by 2 percent to 829 million francs. Premium income dropped 6 percent due to group life business, where the focus remained on capital efficiency.
Big Player in Wealth Management
In some of its foreign markets, Swiss Life boosted the result by double-digit figures, with Germany adding a whopping 19 percent.
Swiss Life Asset Management increased its result by 6 percent to 258 million francs. The business with third-party clients increased by 8 percent. Net new assets amounted to 7.1 billion francs and assets under management for third-party clients totaled 61.4 billion francs at the end of 2017, up 24 percent from a year earlier. Swiss Life established itself as a serious contender in Swiss wealth management.
