- In the first six months of 2017, Swiss Life improved its results again and increased its adjusted profit from operations by 5% to CHF 763 million against the prior year period. Net profit increased by 5% to CHF 524 million.
- Fee income rose by 6% in local currency to CHF 681 million and the fee result improved by 16% to CHF 222 million.
- Premiums came to CHF 10.0 billion (minus 1% in local currency).
- Swiss Life generated direct investment income of CHF 2.2 billion (previous year: CHF 2.2 billion). The non-annualised direct investment yield was stable at 1.5%; the net investment yield on a non-annualised basis was 1.4% (previous year: 1.6%).
- Swiss Life Asset Managers posted net new assets of CHF 3.3 billion in its third-party business. As a result, it had CHF 54.3 billion in assets under management for third parties at the end of June 2017 (10% more than at the end of 2016).
- Swiss Life increased its new business margin from 1.5% to 2.6%; the value of new business thus rose by 56% to CHF 177 million (previous year: CHF 113 million).
- Shareholders' equity rose against year-end 2016 by 2% to CHF 13.9 billion. Swiss Life achieved an adjusted return on equity of 10.5%, against 11.1% for the corresponding period in the previous year.
Patrick Frost, CEO of the Swiss Life Group: “In the first half of 2017, we managed to further strengthen our earnings power and, in particular, to expand our fee business. We are ahead of schedule in implementing our Group-wide programme 'Swiss Life 2018' and the sustained and consistent orientation of our business towards profitability and capital efficiency enabled us to again improve our profit sources. Swiss Life is therefore in a very good position to achieve its financial goals for 2017.”
Improved profitability in all market units
In the first half of 2017, the Swiss Life Group improved its adjusted profit from operations by 5% to CHF 763 million. The resulting net profit also rose by 5% to CHF 524 million. Swiss Life achieved an increase of 16% in its fee result to CHF 222 million.
Swiss Life generated direct investment income of CHF 2.2 billion (previous year: CHF 2.2 billion). That corresponds to a stable non-annualised direct investment yield of 1.5% (previous year: 1.5%). The net investment yield on a non-annualised basis fell to 1.4% due to lower net realised gains (previous year: 1.6%).
All the market units improved their segment result in the first half of 2017: Swiss Life Switzerland achieved a segment result of CHF 425 million (plus 1%). France posted an increase of 7% to EUR 134 million. Germany generated EUR 65 million, 15% over the previous year. Swiss Life International grew its segment result by 2% to EUR 23 million. Swiss Life Asset Managers also improved its contribution to the result: the segment result was up 7% at CHF 123 million; third-party asset management contributed CHF 36 million (32% over the corresponding period in the previous year).
Growth in fee business – focus on profitability of premium income
Swiss Life expanded its fee business: fee income increased Group-wide by CHF 681 million, corresponding to a 6% increase in local currency. Premium income in local currency fell in the first half of 2017 against the prior year period by 1% to CHF 10.0 billion, as the focus remained on profitability and capital efficiency.
In the home market of Switzerland, Swiss Life posted premium volume of CHF 5.9 billion, a 10% decrease from first-half 2016. Fee income came to CHF 115 million (previous year: CHF 117 million). In France, Swiss Life generated an encouraging 10% of premium growth in a declining market to EUR 2.2 billion. In fee business, income was up by a full 22% at EUR 130 million. Swiss Life in Germany generated premiums of EUR 577 million (previous year: EUR 576 million). Fee income, meanwhile, rose by 2% to EUR 169 million. Premiums at Swiss Life International amounted to EUR 977 million in the first six months of 2017 (previous year: EUR 651 million). Fee income also increased, by 6% to EUR 104 million.
Swiss Life Asset Managers generated CHF 3.3 billion net new assets for its third-party business in the first half of 2017, which brought total assets under management for third parties to CHF 54.3 billion (plus 10% relative to the end of 2016). Together with insurance mandates (CHF 155 billion; end of 2016: CHF 155 billion), total assets under management at Swiss Life Asset Managers stood at CHF 210 billion as at 30 June 2017 (3% more than at the end of 2016). Fee income generated by Swiss Life Asset Managers increased by 6% to CHF 295 million (previous year: CHF 279 million), whereby the share of third-party business was up 7% to CHF 153 million (previous year: CHF 144 million).
Strong new business margin – solid solvency
Swiss Life increased its new business margin to 2.6% in the first half of 2017 (previous year: 1.5%). The value of new business rose against the prior year period from CHF 113 million to CHF 177 million. All the business units contributed to this very strong result; the main driver behind this extremely positive development was Swiss Life Switzerland. Swiss Life again improved the product mix in its new business. The average technical interest rate dropped mainly due to reserve strengthening to 1.38% (against 1.41% as of 1 January 2017). Shareholders' equity rose by 2% to CHF 13.9 billion. In the first half of 2017, Swiss Life posted an adjusted return on equity of 10.5%, which was 0.6 percentage points lower than in the corresponding period for the previous year, due to the markedly higher average equity. Swiss Life estimates its SST ratio almost at 170% as of 30 June 2017 (based on the internal model approved with conditions).
Telephone conference for investors and analysts
Patrick Frost, Group CEO, and Thomas Buess, Group CFO, will hold a telephone conference in English for financial analysts and investors today at 9 a.m. (CET).
Dial-in numbers:
Europe: |
+41 (0) 58 310 50 00 |
UK: |
+44 (0) 203 059 58 62 |
USA: |
+1 (1) 631 570 56 13 |
Telephone conference for media representatives
Patrick Frost, Group CEO, and Thomas Buess, Group CFO, will hold a telephone conference in German for media representatives today at 11 a.m. (CET).
Dial-in number:
Europe: +41 (0) 58 310 50 00
An audio webcast of both conferences will be made available on the www.swisslife.com website. Please dial in ten minutes before the start of the conference.
Information
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Phone +41 43 284 77 77
Investor Relations
Phone +41 43 284 52 76
investor.relations@swisslife.ch
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Further information
All our media releases can be found at swisslife.com/mediareleases
Swiss Life
The Swiss Life Group is one of Europe's leading comprehensive life and pensions and financial solutions providers. In its core markets of Switzerland, France and Germany, Swiss Life offers individuals and corporations comprehensive and individual advice plus a broad range of own and partner products through its sales force and distribution partners such as brokers and banks.
Swiss Life Select, Tecis, Horbach, Proventus and Chase de Vere advisors choose suitable products for customers from the market according to the Best Select approach. Swiss Life Asset Managers offers institutional and private investors access to investment and asset management solutions. Swiss Life provides multinational corporations with employee benefits solutions and high net worth individuals with structured life and pensions products.
Swiss Life Holding Ltd, registered in Zurich, was founded in 1857 as Schweizerische Rentenanstalt. The shares of Swiss Life Holding Ltd are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SLHN). The subsidiaries Livit, Corpus Sireo and Mayfair Capital are also part of the Swiss Life Group. The Group employs a workforce of around 7800 and approximately 4800 certified financial advisors.
Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking information
This publication contains specific forward-looking statements, e.g. statements including terms like “believe”, “assume”, “expect” or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements, by their nature, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors. These may result in a substantial divergence between the actual results, developments and expectations of Swiss Life and those explicitly or implicitly described in these forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, the reader is reminded that these statements are merely projections and should not be overvalued. Neither SwissLife nor its Members of the Board of Directors, executive managers, managers, employees or external advisors nor any other person associated with Swiss Life or with any other relationship to the company makes any express or implied representation or warranty as to the correctness or completeness of the information contained in this publication. SwissLife and the abovementioned persons shall not be liable under any circumstances for any direct or indirect loss resulting from the use of this information. Furthermore, Swiss Life undertakes no obligation to publicly update or change any of these forward-looking statements, or to adjust them to reflect new information, future events, developments or similar.