EANS-News: UNIQA Insurance Group AG / UNIQA remains on track with solid result

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6-month report

UNIQA remains on track with solid result

· Premiums written (including savings portion) increased by 2.0 per
cent to EUR 3,130.3 million

· Retained premiums earned according to IFRS (not including savings
portion) up 6.0 per cent to EUR 2,643.8 million

· Group cost ratio and combined ratio further improved at 21.9 per
cent and 98.3 per cent respectively

· Underwriting result considerably increased (+53.6 per cent)

· Negative effect on EBT due to write-downs of EUR 19 million on Hypo
Alpe-Adria-Bank International bonds

· Nonetheless, EBT increased to EUR 181.4 million (+24.7 per cent) on
a like-for-like basis (excluding non-recurring effects from the hotel
sale in 2013)

In the first half of 2014, UNIQA Insurance Group AG (UNIQA Group)
generated a profit on ordinary activities (EBT) of EUR 181.4 million
(-7.7 per cent). Adjusted for the one-off effect from the sale of the
Austria hotel group in the first half of 2013 in the amount of EUR
51.1 million, EBT was up 24.7 per cent year on year.

The UNIQA Group increased its premiums written - including the
savings portion from unit- and index-linked life insurance - by 2.0
per cent to EUR 3,130.3 million (1-6/2013: EUR 3,068.1 million).
Retained premiums earned (in accordance with IFRS, not including
savings portion) grew by 6.0 per cent to EUR 2,643.8 million
(1-6/2013: EUR 2,495.0 million).

UNIQA CEO Andreas Brandstetter: "We remained on track in a tough
economic environment in the first half of 2014. We grew once again,
reduced costs and further improved the combined ratio. Even recurring
investment income increased slightly despite write-downs on the Hypo
Alpe-Adria bonds and low interest rates. Overall, this means that our
EBT grew significantly on a like-for-like basis. Thanks to the
continued gradual implementation of our long-term strategy programme
UNIQA 2.0, we thus took another step closer to our goals. We remain
on target for again considerably increasing our EBT for 2014 as a
whole compared to 2013."

Key Group figures

Premiums written - including the savings portion from unit- and
index-linked life insurance - rose by a moderate 2.0 per cent to EUR
3,130.3 million in the first half of 2014 (1-6/2013: EUR 3,068.1
million). Premium growth was curbed primarily by a significant
decrease in premiums in unit-linked life insurance. This development
was caused mainly by follow-on effects from maturing life insurance
policies in connection with the decision to completely withdraw from
the German market and not to conclude any new business, which was
adopted back in 2011.

Retained premiums earned (in accordance with IFRS, not including the
savings portion from unit- and index-linked life insurance) increased
significantly by 6.0 per cent to EUR 2,643.8 million (1-6/2013: EUR
2,495.0 million).

The UNIQA Group's retained insurance benefits rose by 6.6 per cent to
EUR 2,142.0 million in the first six months of 2014 (1-6/2013: EUR
2,008.9 million). The increase in benefits was thus slightly higher
than the increase in premiums earned.

Operating expenses less reinsurance commissions received improved by
1.7 per cent year on year, falling to EUR 638.4 million (1-6/2013:
EUR 649.3 million). There was a significant reduction in
administrative expenses, which fell by 13.6 per cent or EUR 28.4
million to EUR 179.6 million (1-6/2013: EUR 207.9 million). This was
offset by a moderate 4.0 per cent growth in sales costs to EUR 458.9
million (1-6/2013: EUR 441.3 million).

The Group cost ratio after reinsurance improved from 23.0 per cent to
21.9 per cent, chiefly due to the reduction in administrative
expenses. In 2012, the first full financial year after the UNIQA 2.0
strategy programme was launched, the cost ratio was still 25.0 per
cent.

Despite the flood damage in Eastern and Southeastern Europe and the
slight increase in the loss ratio, the combined ratio (after
reinsurance) improved by 1.1 percentage points to 98.3 per cent
(1-6/2013: 99.4 per cent); in 2012, the combined ratio was 101.3 per
cent.

The underwriting result also developed positively, improving by 53.6
% from EUR 59.8 million to EUR 91.8 million.

Net investment income of the UNIQA Group fell by 11.8 per cent from
EUR 408.9 million to EUR 360.7 million in the first half of 2014.
However, the comparative figure for the previous year included the
book profit on the disposal of the Austria Hotels International
Group, which amounted to EUR 51.1 million. Adjusted for this one-off
effect in the previous year, net investment income rose by 0.8 per
cent despite write-downs of EUR 19 million on Hypo Alpe- Adria-Bank
International bonds and the persistently low interest rates.

The investment portfolio of the UNIQA Group (including unit- and
index-linked life insurance investments) increased by EUR 1,455.1
million as against the end of the previous year to EUR 28,838.7
million (31 December 2013: EUR 27,383.6 million).

The UNIQA Group's profit on ordinary activities amounted to EUR 181.4
million in the first half of the year. On a like-for-like basis
(excluding the one-off effect from the sale of the hotel group in the
first half of 2013 in the amount of EUR 51.1 million), this
corresponds to an increase of 24.7 per cent. If this one-off effect
in the first half of 2013 is included, EBT in the first six months of
2014 was 7.7 per cent lower than the previous year's figure
(1-6/2013: EUR 196.6 million). The net profit for the period amounted
to EUR 125.7 million (1-6/2013: EUR 152.9 million), while the
consolidated profit (after taxes and minority interests) fell by 18.5
per cent to EUR 122.8 million (1-6/2013: EUR 150.6 million). In both
cases, the decline is also attributable to the one- off effect from
the sale of the hotel group in the first half of 2013.

In the first six months of 2014, the UNIQA Group's total equity
increased by 9.0 per cent to EUR 3,041.7 million (31 December 2013:
EUR 2,789.9 million).

The solvency ratio (Solvency I) remained very strong in the first
half of 2014 and improved by 14.7 percentage points as against the
end of the previous year to 301.8 per cent (31 December 2013: 287.1
per cent).

The number of employees increased from 14,353 to 14,620 (+1.9 per
cent) due to the acquisition of insurance companies in Croatia and
Serbia. 5,960 of these employees were employed in sales and 8,660 in
administration.

Outlook The UNIQA Group has set itself the target of significantly
increasing its profit on ordinary activities again in 2014 in
comparison to 2013. This assumes that the capital market environment
will be stable, that economic development will improve moderately and
that losses caused by natural disasters will remain within a normal
range.

Forward-looking statements This press release contains statements
concerning UNIQA's future development. These statements present
estimates which were reached on the basis of all of the information
available to us at the present time. If the assumptions on which they
are based do not occur, the actual results may deviate from the
results currently expected. As a result, no liability is accepted for
this information.

UNIQA 2.0 UNIQA 2.0 is a long-term strategy programme that the
company has been implementing since May 2011. UNIQA has set itself
the target of increasing its customer base to 15 million by 2020 and
improving its EBT by up to EUR 350 million between 2012 and 2015. In
doing this, the company is focusing on its core business as a primary
insurer in its core markets of Austria and Central and Eastern Europe
(CEE). The business model is geared towards profitable growth and
long-term value added in these markets. UNIQA intends to boost
profitability at UNIQA Österreich, increase productivity at
Raiffeisen Versicherung in Austria and leverage the growth potential
in the CEE region and is implementing a systematic risk/return
approach.

Further inquiry note:
UNIQA Insurance Group AG
Norbert Heller
Tel.: +43 (01) 211 75-3414
mailto:norbert.heller@uniqa.at

end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: UNIQA Insurance Group AG
Untere Donaustraße 21
A-1029 Wien
phone: 01/211 75-0
mail: investor.relations@uniqa.at
WWW: http://www.uniqagroup.com
sector: Insurance
ISIN: AT0000821103
indexes: WBI, ATX Prime, ATX
stockmarkets: official market: Wien
language: English