Generali MEDIOLAN: G ubezpieczenia, inwestycje

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Assicurazioni Generali Earnings Beat, Revenue Misses In Q3
21 hours ago (Nov 11, 2021 08:45AM ET)

Investing.com - Assicurazioni Generali (MI:GASI) reported on Thursday third quarter earnings that beat analysts' forecasts and revenue that fell short of expectations.

Assicurazioni Generali announced earnings per share of €0.4853 on revenue of €15.95B. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of €0.3282 on revenue of €18,378M.

Assicurazioni Generali shares are up 33% from the beginning of the year, still down 1.37% from its 52 week high of €19.34 set on November 11. They are outperforming the STOXX 600 which is up 21.48% from the start of the year.

Assicurazioni Generali shares gained 0.32% in intra-day trade following the report.

Assicurazioni Generali follows other major Financial sector earnings this month
Assicurazioni Generali's report follows an earnings beat by Intesa Sanpaolo on November 4, who reported EPS of €0.05 on revenue of €5.09B, compared to forecasts EPS of €0.045 on revenue of €4.96B.

UniCredit had beat expectations on October 28 with third quarter EPS of €0.49 on revenue of €4.44B, compared to forecast for EPS of €0.365 on revenue of €4.26B.

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Generali launches corporate cyber insurance services

ROME (Reuters) - Generali (MI:GASI), Accenture (NYSE:ACN) and Vodafone (NASDAQ:VOD) have created a package of cyber security services to help the insurer's corporate clients to detect, react and recover from cyber threats and incidents.

Cyber security has been an increasingly critical issue for companies and financial institutions, including small and medium-sized enterprises, as attacks have increased in terms of numbers and impact.

They have increased further as many companies have shifted towards hybrid work models during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The governor of the Bank of Italy in October warned that financial institutions were more exposed to such risks, with cyber attacks on European banks increasing by 54% this year, and called for greater care in monitoring and managing them.

Generali's new services will be offered globally, starting in Europe at the beginning of 2022.

They include cyber risk assessment, simulations of phishing attacks and learning programmes to strengthen clients' ability to prevent attacks but also to restore normal operations and minimise the consequences after an attack.

"Technology, consumer needs and cyber risks evolve rapidly, and the insurance industry must accelerate to embrace new digital opportunities and respond to increasing cybersecurity needs," Generali Group Chief Transformation Officer Bruno Scaroni said in a statement.

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Generali (MI:GASI) stock rose 1.4% after the Italian insurer announced plans to return up to 6.1 billion euros ($7 billion) in dividends and buybacks to shareholders.

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Assicurazioni Generali (MI:GASI) stock rose 0.5% after Europe’s third-insurer announced that director Francesco Caltagirone has resigned from the board amid a boardroom disagreement regarding the reappointment of CEO Philippe Donnet.

W poniedziałek włoski ubezpieczyciel poinformował, że Romolo Bardin, dyrektor generalny holdingu Delifn, zrezygnował z członkowska w zarządzie Generali.

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MILAN (Reuters) - Insurer Generali (MI:GASI) said on Wednesday it had suspended Luciano Cirina, its head of Austria and CEE countries, who has been proposed by a leading shareholder for the role of chief executive in a challenge to incumbent Philippe Donnet.

The top Italian insurer is facing a power struggle over its board composition at a shareholder vote late next month.

The outgoing board has put forward Donnet for a third term as CEO and nominated Andrea Sironi, a leading international expert in governance and risk management who has served as dean of Milan's Bocconi University, as new chairman.

Those nominees are backed by Generali's major shareholder Mediobanca (OTC:MDIBY).

Italian tycoons Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and Leonardo Del Vecchio who are, respectively, Generali's second- and third-largest investors, are opposing Donnet's reappointment as they challenge the influence of Mediobanca.

Caltagirone has submitted his own slate of nominees proposing Cirina as CEO, a role that Frenchman Donnet has held since 2016, and Claudio Costamagna, a former Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) banker and former chairman of Italian state investor CDP, as chairman.

Cirina and Costamagna plan to hold a news conference on Friday in Milan.

Generali told Cirina that all obligations of his contract remain in force, including those related to the protection of confidential company information and compliance with internal policies regarding relations with the media, financial analysts, rating agencies, investors and authorities, it said.

The head of German unit Giovanni Liverani will take over as interim Austria and Central and Eastern Europe (ACEE) regional officer with immediate effect.

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MILAN (Reuters) - Rebel challengers to Generali (MI:GASI)'s current management pledged to increase earnings by a double-digit percentage and free more cash for takeovers, setting out their plans for Italy's largest insurer before a showdown next month.

Generali faces a power struggle over its board, with investor Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone putting up his own candidates for the top jobs.

The following is a selection of reactions to a plan presented by the Caltagirone camp dubbed "Awakening the Lion" on Friday:

BNP PARIBAS EXANE

"14% EPS growth would not just beat the existing Generali plan, but would lead our entire sector. If you offer this to investors, you need to be prepared to back it up. We don’t feel we got that today.

In particular, the 6-6.5% CAGR contribution from 'Business Enhancement' stretches credulity: example strategic opportunities in Health, SME and Asset Management are all-well-and-good, but strike us as incremental rather than game-changing."

CITI:

"Significantly larger efficiency targets were presented, but poorly supported in our view, also with a tight delivery schedule and being revenue dependent. It was also unclear how higher IT spend would be expensed.

Overall we see this as a far more aggressive plan that would significantly change the investment case and risk profile in a challenging time for large scale, shareholder-friendly M&A."

KBW

"We are pretty sure that Generali can do better. But we do not agree that the evidence is overwhelming that the current management team has failed, especially when we consider issues such as the Eurozone crisis and the need to recover financial flexibility that bedevilled the 2010s."

EQUITA SIM

"Caltagirone said that in the insurance business Generali will have to look to growth in Europe and the East (China and India) and for growth in asset management in the U.S. These points had already been highlighted by Generali's current management in the business plan in December."


Generali (MI:GASI) firmed 1.9%, lifted by a new plan for the insurer that targets higher growth.

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Generali challenger's plan would increase debt leverage to near 25% - paper

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-ma ... er-2802997

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Generali investor Norges to vote in favour of CEO Donnet at AGM

https://www.fxempire.com/news/article/g ... agm-976081

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Investing.com - Assicurazioni Generali (BIT:GASI) reported on Thursday first quarter earnings that missed analysts' forecasts and revenue that topped expectations.

Assicurazioni Generali announced earnings per share of €0.46 on revenue of €22.32B. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of €0.5407 on revenue of €19.78B.

Assicurazioni Generali shares are down 2% from the beginning of the year, still down 15.41% from its 52 week high of €21.55 set on April 1. They are outperforming the STOXX 600 which is down 11.92% from the start of the year.

Assicurazioni Generali shares gained 1.28% in intra-day trade following the report.

Assicurazioni Generali follows other major Financial sector earnings this month
Assicurazioni Generali's report follows an earnings beat by Intesa Sanpaolo on May 6, who reported EPS of €0.05 on revenue of €5.41B, compared to forecasts EPS of €0.0401 on revenue of €4.92B.

UniCredit had beat expectations on May 5 with first quarter EPS of €0.19 on revenue of €5.02B, compared to forecast for EPS of €0.1649 on revenue of €5.02B.

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Generali exploring various acquisition options in U.S. - source

MILAN (Reuters) - Generali (BIT:GASI) has been exploring several dossiers in the U.S. for a potential acquisition in the asset management business, a source close to the matter said after a report that the Italian insurer may be considering a deal with U.S.-based Guggenheim Partners.

Bloomberg News said Italy's biggest insurer has held informal talks on options ranging from a full acquisition of Guggenheim's asset management business to a partnership or strategic investment, citing people familiar with the matter.

The source told Reuters Guggenheim may be among the dossiers that Generali had looked at.

Asked about Banca Generali, which the report said could be sold to investment bank Mediobanca (OTC:MDIBY) to raise cash for any deal, the person said there were no active talks between Generali and Mediobanca on Banca Generali now.

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Generali sticks to 2024 targets, generates $1 billion per year for M&A

MILAN (Reuters) -Leading Italian insurer Generali (BIT:GASI) on Thursday confirmed all targets in its business plan to 2024 after upbeat nine-month results, adding it was able to generate 1 billion euros per year of cash for any potential M&A.

In September, sources had said Generali was exploring several potential U.S. acquisition targets in the asset management business, including investment firm Guggenheim Partners.

For a deal of this size, Generali may need to divest its private bank Banca Generali, sources had said at that time.

In a post-results call with journalists, Chief Financial Officer Cristiano Borean declined to comment on rumours of an acquisition in the U.S. but said Generali was "a happy investor" in Banca Generali.

Under a plan unveiled last year, Generali had earmarked up to 3 billion euros for mergers and acquisitions in insurance and asset management businesses, citing possible deals in Europe, Asia and the United States.

Chief Executive Philippe Donnet survived a challenge from rebel domestic investors in April who were pressing for a more aggressive M&A policy.

Nine-month net profit came in at 2.23 billion euros ($2.24 billion), down 0.8% from a year ago, due to impairments of 141 million euros on Russian investments. The profit was above an analyst consensus provided by the company of 2.05 billion euros.

Net operating profit, a figure closely watched by the market, grew 7.8% from a year ago to 4.77 billion euros, above an analyst consensus of 4.52 billion euros, as higher interest rates boosted life business.

Generali shares were up 2.4% by 0841 GMT, outperforming the European insurance sector.

"We deem the numbers very strong and much better than our estimates," analysts at Banca Akros said, confirming their 'Accumulate' recommendation.

Generali's capital position proved resilient with a Solvency Ratio of 223% at the end of September, down 4.5 percentage points from the end of 2021 due to the impact of some M&A deals, regulatory changes and a share buyback of 500 million euros.

It stood at 225% at the end of October, Borean said.

Despite a challenging macroeconomic scenario, Generali confirmed all of its plan targets, including a 6%-8% average annual growth in earnings per share and dividends of up to 5.6 billion euros, it said in a statement.

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-ma ... at-2939077

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Generali provides dividend cheer, no exposure to SVB

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's Assicurazioni Generali (BIT:GASI) surprised investors on Tuesday by hiking the dividend payout on its 2022 results after posting its best operating profit ever.

Finance chief Cristiano Borean also told reporters the leading Italian insurer had no exposure to collapsed U.S. lender Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and just "a marginal" position in its third-party risk portfolio.

Startup-focused SVB last week became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis, sending shockwaves through the global financial system and prompting regulators to step in to contain the fallout.

"There is a crisis every year. Our excellent solvency, which results from a very diversified business model, has enabled us to overcome all the crises of the last seven years," Generali Chief Executive Philippe Donnet said.

With its net profit up 2.3% to 2.91 billion euros ($3.11 billion) in 2022, despite a 154 million euros hit from Russian investments, Generali is set to pay a dividend per share of 1.16 euros, "a remarkable" 8.4% higher than the year before, Jefferies analysts said.

Generali shares were up 2% in early trade, outperforming a flat Italian blue-chip index.

Operating profit, the figure most closely watched by the market, rose 11.2% to 6.5 billion euros, above an analysts' consensus provided by the company of 6.19 billion euros as higher interest rates boosted the life insurance business, while the non-life business proved resilient.

The solvency ratio, a measure of the financial strength of Generali, stood at 221% at the end of 2022 and had risen to 230% as of March 10.

"We are on track to achieve the targets and ambitions of our strategic plan, delivering sustainable growth to create value for all our stakeholders, even in a challenging geopolitical and economic context", Donnet said.

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ROME (Reuters) -Generali will buy out the Spanish unit of U.S. insurer Liberty Mutual for 2.3 billion euros ($2.51 billion), in a move aimed at strengthening its property and casualty segment, Italy's top insurer said on Thursday.

"Generali (BIT:GASI) is acquiring a profitable insurance business in three growing European markets with very attractive characteristics, that will create significant long-term value for all stakeholders," Chief Executive Philippe Donnet said in a statement.

Generali said it expects the acquisition to bring a reduction of 9.7 percentage points on the group's regulatory solvency ratio.

The all-cash deal would allow the Italian group to become one of the main players in the Spanish insurance market, as well as enter Ireland and Northern Ireland, Generali said.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Credit Suisse acted as financial advisers for the transaction, it added.

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In equity news, shares in Generali were up 5% after Delfin was authorized to hold a more-than 10% stake in Italy's biggest insurer.

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MILAN (Reuters) - Generali (BIT:GASI) has agreed to buy Connecticut-based asset manager Conning Holdings as part of a partnership with Cathay Life, a unit of Taiwan's Cathay Financial Holding, the Italian insurer said on Thursday.

The deal, structured as an exchange of assets without a cash consideration, realises Generali CEO Philippe Donnet's ambition of expanding into the asset management sector in the United States.

Under its current three-year plan, Generali had been seeking acquisition targets in insurance and asset management, earmarking up to 3 billion euros ($3.25 billion) for M&A transactions and citing possible deals in Europe, Asia and the United States.

The insurer studied several potential U.S. acquisition targets in recent months before deciding to buy Conning.

Cathay Life will become a minority shareholder in Generali Investments Holding, which comprises the majority of the group's asset management activities, with a stake of around 16.75%, Generali said.

The deal takes Generali into two strategic areas -- the United States where it was not active in the industry, as well as expanding in Asia through the partnership with the seller, said Carlo Trabattoni, the head of Asset & Wealth Management for Generali.

Furthermore Generali will become one of the top 10 players in asset management in Europe, he added.

Generali and Cathay Life will enter an asset management agreement for at least 10 years.

Conning, which will retain its current management team led by CEO Woody Bradford, has around $157 billion in assets under management, serving insurance and institutional clients in the United States and Asia.

The acquisition of Conning and its affiliates increases Generali's total Assets Under Management (AUM) to $845 billion (775 billion euros), up from 620 billion euros at the end of March.

The deal, whose closing is expected in the first half of next year, is subject to customary regulatory approvals.