Munich Re: withdraws guidance, citing virus impact

(CercleFinance.com) - Late on Tuesday Munich Re withdrew its financial guidance for 2020, citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and said that it is suspending its share buyback program "until further notice".


The German firm said that its property-casualty reinsurance segment saw a considerable claims burden from losses in the first quarter, as the corona crisis significantly worsened.

Munich Re now expects profits in the low three-digit million euro range for the first three months of 2020, compared to a profit of 633 million euros in the first quarter of 2019.

Citing "great uncertainty" concerning the impacts of the pandemic, Munich Re also said it will not reach its profit guidance of 2.8 billion euros for 2020.

The group, however, is sticking to its proposal of an increased dividend of 9.80 euros per share.

The stock was down just 1.2% on Wednesday morning on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

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