Published by maria gbaf
Posted on November 12, 2021
2 min readLast updated: January 28, 2026
Generali's profit exceeded expectations with €1 billion for M&A. The insurer plans a strategic update on Dec. 15, amid shareholder scrutiny.
MILAN (Reuters) -Italy’s top insurer Generali beat market expectations with its nine-month results on Thursday as its life and asset management segments performed well and said it has about 1 billion euros left to deploy as it continues to look at M&A opportunities.
The company is set to update the market on how it plans to use its available capital on Dec. 15 when it will unveil a new three-year strategic plan, finance chief Cristiano Borean said in a post-results media call.
Chief Executive Philippe Donnet, whose term expires next April, has come under fire from two main shareholders – Italian businessmen Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and Leonardo Del Vecchio – who have criticised his M&A strategy as too timid and want Generali to grow further.
Generali earmarked up to 4 billion euros ($4.63 billion) for M&A under a three-year strategic plan ending this year.
After a number of acquisitions in Portugal, Greece, eastern Europe and Malaysia, the insurer sealed last month a 1.17 billion euro takeover of smaller rival Cattolica in a move aimed at cementing its domestic market leadership.
“We are still evaluating any M&A opportunities consistent with our discipline. But M&A is not a must,” Borean said, when asked if this capital could be also used for a share buyback.
Generali’s nine-month net profit rose 74% to 2.25 billion euros ($2.60 billion), above the average forecast of 2.13 billion euros in an analyst consensus provided by the company.
Its shares have gained 35% this year and were up 1.6% in early trade on Thursday.
While its life and asset management businesses performed well, non-life business proved resilient despite the higher impact of natural catastrophe claims, the company said in a statement.
Its operating profit, a figure most closely watched by the market, also came above analyst consensus as it rose 10% to 4.4 billion euros. Generali’s solvency ratio, which measures the financial strength of the company, stood at 233% as of Nov. 8, up slightly from 231% at the end of July and 224% at the end of 2020.
The insurer confirmed its target of annual compound growth in 2018-2021 of earnings per share of between 6% and 8%. Return on Equity (ROE) is expected to be higher than 11.5%.
($1 = 0.8648 euros)
(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; Editing by Susan Fenton)
The article discusses Generali's nine-month profit exceeding expectations and its plans for potential M&A opportunities.
Generali's nine-month net profit rose 74% to €2.25 billion, surpassing analyst forecasts.
Generali plans to update its strategic plan on Dec. 15, focusing on capital deployment and potential M&A.
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