Swiss Re: posts loss due to steep Covid-19 claims
(CercleFinance.com) - Swiss Re, one of the world's biggest reinsurers, swung to a full-year net loss on Friday, due to an avalanche of Covid-19 claims and provisions.
For the full-year, Swiss Re posted a net loss of 878 million dollars, compared with a net profit of 727 million dollars a year earlier, a lot higher than analysts' estimates of a loss of 500 million dollars.
Excluding Covid-19 claims and reserves of 3.9 billion dollars, net profit would have come in at 2.2 billion dollars, the Zurich-based company said.
Not only has Swiss Re been hit by the corona crisis, in addition it has had to face losses due to natural catastrophes, which amounted to 1.7 billion dollars in 2020, largely driven by the Atlantic hurricane season.
While it expects further Covid-19 losses in 2021, Swiss Re said it has "dramatically reduced" its exposure to the pandemic, in particular in its property-casualty lines.
The group said it will propose a dividend of 5.90 Swiss francs per share at the Annual General Meeting in April, in line with expectations.
With 2021 set to become "a transition year" according to analysts, the shares are currently up 0.3% on Friday morning on Switzerland's SMI index.
Copyright (c) 2021 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
For the full-year, Swiss Re posted a net loss of 878 million dollars, compared with a net profit of 727 million dollars a year earlier, a lot higher than analysts' estimates of a loss of 500 million dollars.
Excluding Covid-19 claims and reserves of 3.9 billion dollars, net profit would have come in at 2.2 billion dollars, the Zurich-based company said.
Not only has Swiss Re been hit by the corona crisis, in addition it has had to face losses due to natural catastrophes, which amounted to 1.7 billion dollars in 2020, largely driven by the Atlantic hurricane season.
While it expects further Covid-19 losses in 2021, Swiss Re said it has "dramatically reduced" its exposure to the pandemic, in particular in its property-casualty lines.
The group said it will propose a dividend of 5.90 Swiss francs per share at the Annual General Meeting in April, in line with expectations.
With 2021 set to become "a transition year" according to analysts, the shares are currently up 0.3% on Friday morning on Switzerland's SMI index.
Copyright (c) 2021 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.