Sampo (SAMPO) Q2 2019 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Consolidated profit before taxes rose to €1,153m in H1 2019 from €981m; net profit increased to €826m from €706m.

• Reported EPS was €1.68 for H1 2019 versus €1.37 in H1 2018.

Financial highlights

• Gross written premiums totaled €4,639m in H1 2019: If €2,618m, Mandatum Life €534m and Topdanmark €1,488m.

• Investments totaled €21.5bn at 30 June 2019; allocation included 42% other fixed income, 22% covered bonds and 15% equities.

• Investment returns excluding Topdanmark were €794m, with a 4.0% return for H1 2019; equities returned 17.2%.

Outlook and guidance

• 2019 operating results were expected to be good; marked-to-market results, particularly in life insurance, remained dependent on capital markets.

• If was expected to achieve an 84–86% combined ratio in 2019; Nordea was expected to contribute significantly to profit.

• Low interest rates were expected to make fixed-income reinvestment challenging.