Bper, Popolare Sondrio and more. How will Unipol pay off?
Facts, numbers and scenarios (including banking) for Unipol. Emanuela Rossi's article
Profits up in the first half and confirmation of the income trend in line with the objectives of the 2019-2021 Business Plan for Unipol. The board led by Carlo Cimbri has also called the shareholders' meeting for next 1 October when it will propose to distribute a dividend of 0.28 euros per share, referring to the 2019 financial year, frozen on the recommendation of Eiopa, the Authority European Union, and our Ivass because of the pandemic.
ACCOUNTS AND COLLECTION
The first six months of the year closed with consolidated profits of 652 million euros, up compared to 617 million in the same period of 2020. A note from the group shows that premiums amounted to 6.6 billion euros, in growth of 7.4%, of which 3.9 billion euros in the non-life sector and 2.6 billion in the life sector (+ 21%).
On the net result of the first half of 2021, it is stated, the 138 million euros (22 million in 2020) deriving from the pro-rata consolidation of the result of Bper Banca, in turn influenced by extraordinary accounting items following the acquisition, had a positive impact. in the first half of the former Ubi Banca and Intesa Sanpaolo business units. The Unipol group has reached a consolidated group Solvency ratio of 216%, expected to be 212% after the payment of the 2019 dividend.
Going into the detail of the segments, the profitability of the non-life branch decreased with pre-tax profit decreased from 810 to 618 million despite a contribution of 68 million from Bper. A recovery in claims weighed on the trend, which decreased significantly in 2020 due to traffic restrictions in April and May. The combined ratio, which measures the profitability of technical operations, rose to 92.6% from 82.1% last year. In the life business, where pre-tax profits rose from € 14 to € 111 million, the excellent performance of bancassurance with Bper which – with the joint venture Arca Vita – set aside direct deposits of € 1,165 million, +84.5 %.
Still in the red, however, the real estate sector which made losses before tax of 11 million euros in line with the red of 10 million in 2020.
As regards “other activities”, a profit of 25 million (-60 million in 2020) was recorded only thanks to the contribution of 70 million Bper. In particular, there have been problems for the hotel sector, in which Unipol operates with the company Una, which is suffering from “the particularly negative repercussions”. UnipolRec, a subsidiary that deals with credit recovery, on the other hand, closed with a profit of 1.6 million.
FORECASTS FOR THE FUTURE
As for the months to come, the group led by Carlo Cimbri confirms the objectives of the industrial plan which will end in 2021. "The trend recorded by the group in the first half and the information to
time available – reads the note released by Unipol – allow us to confirm, in the absence of currently unforeseeable events also linked to a worsening of the reference context, an operating income trend for the current year in line with the objectives set in the Business Plan 2019-2021 ".
On the Italian economy front, there are "significant growth rates that can be strengthened by the use of funds from the Next Generation EU which represents an opportunity for our economy". However, it should not be forgotten that "the spread of the variants of the Covid-19 pandemic is still threatening the prospects for growth and the complete reopening of activities".
THE HALF YEAR OF THE SUBSIDIARY UNIPOLSAI
On the other hand, a slight decline in profit in the first half of the year for the subsidiary UnipolSai which recorded 542 million euros compared to 560 million euros in the same period of 2020. Premiums increased by 7.4% – for 6.6 billion euros. euro – thanks to the boost from bancassurance with Bper, where the Arca Vita jv “benefited from the expansion of the bank's perimeter thanks to the acquisition of Ubi Banca branches from Intesa Sanpaolo”.
The non-life sector is recovering after the collapse of 2020 due to the lockdown. The combined ratio, which indicates the profitability of technical operations, rose to 92.6% compared to 82.1% in 2020 and contributed to the reduction in pre-tax profits, which fell from 805 to 553 million euros. Premiums essentially stable at € 3.9 billion.
Good performance for the non-life sector with deposits of € 2.63 billion (+ 21%)
thanks to the push of Arca Vita (+ 84% to 1.16 billion). The pre-tax result of the sector reached 114 from 15 million euros. In addition, the management of financial investments recorded a return of 3.2% on the assets invested and the individual solvency index rose to 331% compared to 318% at the end of 2020.
WHAT THE CEO CIMBRI SAID IN THE CONFERENCE CALL
During the conference call with analysts, Cimbri announced that Unipol's next business plan will arrive in the spring and that reserves have not been touched "as we did last year". According to reports from Ansa , the CEO expects that the average premium for motor vehicle liability will resume growth given that "it has fallen by 35% in the last 4-5 years". “It is clear – he added – that prices will only be able to adjust as the next trend. We must expect a realignment of the frequency and for this we are very attentive to pricing policies, because we want to accompany an increase in frequency with tariff increases that are adequate to support the technical balance ”. In fact, it must be considered that "although traffic has returned to the levels of 2019, we still observe complaints that are much lower than in 2019 and therefore the frequency is not yet at those levels".
POPULAR DOSSIER OF SONDRIO
As for the banking sector, Cimbri said he was absolutely satisfied with the investment in Popolare di Sondrio, also in terms of share. "It is a well-managed bank", said the CEO, "and we are interested in presiding over a partnership that has lasted more than 10 years". All the more so in light of the potential spaces for growth in the banking channel where, it must be remembered, the 20% stake in Bper is also pigeonholed. In this regard, the manager stressed that Unipol "is also very satisfied" with "the volumes produced" by the former branches of Ubi: "We can only be happy as shareholders but above all as distribution partners". "Also on Sondrio – concluded Cimbri – we will apply ourselves in the immediate future to make this channel even more robust and profitable in the mutual interest".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/bper-popolare-sondrio-e-non-solo-come-sbanchera-unipol/ on Sun, 08 Aug 2021 14:25:50 +0000.