Generali ended 2020 with a net profit of €1,744 billion, down 34,7% year-on-year. The result was affected by one-off extraordinary expenses and write-downs on investments, mainly in the first half of the year. If we exclude the charge for the Extraordinary International Fund for Covid-19 and the liability management operation, the normalized net profit is equal to 2,076 billion (-12,7%).
Il Operating income of the group was instead confirmed, for the second consecutive year, the best ever, reaching 5,208 billion euros (+0,3% from 5,192 billion in 2019), "thanks to the positive contribution of the segments Danni, Asset Management e Holding and other activities,” the company specifies in the press release. The negative impact of Covid-19 on the operating result is estimated to have been 123 million.
Then confirmed "the excellent capital position", continues the press release, with the Solvency Ratio at 224%, which benefits from record capital generation of €4 billion.
"Today we present excellent results, obtained in an unprecedented context due to the crisis generated by the pandemic - commented the group's CEO, Philippe Donnet – These results confirm Generali's greater resilience compared to other players in the sector, both from a technical point of view and from that of capital solidity. For the second consecutive year we record the best operating result in history and, also thanks to the further growth in the dividend, we continue to create value for all our stakeholders".
The BoD proposes to the assembly the distribution of a dividend equal to 1,47 euro per share, to be paid in two tranches from 1,01 and 0,46 euros respectively. The first tranche, which will be paid starting from 26 May 2021, represents the ordinary pay-out from the 2020 profit: the shares will be traded without the right to the dividend starting from 24 May 2021, with the date of entitlement to receive the dividend on May 25, 2021. The second tranche, on the other hand, relating to the undistributed part of the 2019 dividend, will be payable starting from October 20, 2021 and the shares will be traded without the right to the dividend starting from October 18, 2021, with legitimacy date to receive the dividend on 19 October 2021. The proposed dividend involves a maximum total disbursement of 2,315 billion euro.
“We have now entered the final year of the Strategic Plan and we are well positioned to achieve all the Generali 2021 objectives – continues Donnet – We have defined and implemented a new organizational structure to ensure not only the success of this plan but also to prepare for the next strategic cycle”.
as to collection, in the branch Life it stood at 12,114 billion (-10,5%), with technical reserves at 385 billion (+4,2%).
“The Group has also accelerated the business transformation – concludes the CEO – to ensure a distribution model that increasingly combines the physical and digital dimensions and, thanks to the innovative approach of all our employees and agents, we are now closer than ever to our customers. Finally, I am very proud of the fact that, in the most difficult moment of the crisis, Generali acted immediately to support the communities in which it operates through our International Extraordinary Fund and other high-impact initiatives in the territories in which we operate".
