STA, March 9, 2018 – The insurance and reinsurance group Sava Re collected EUR 517.2m in gross premiums last year, which is 5.5% more than in 2016 and 4.7% more than planned. Net profit was however down 5.5% to EUR 31.1m, mostly owing to major damage payouts.
The group saw its collected premiums grow on all markets where it is present, Sava Re said in a press release on Friday.
In Slovenia, premiums in property insurance were up by 5.7% and in life insurance by 3.7%, and by 4.9% in total.
The group recorded an almost 10% growth in premiums on foreign markets (Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Kosovo), in both property and life insurance.
Bosnia-Herzegovina is thus the only former Yugoslav republic where Sava Re is not yet present, but the group is looking for investment opportunities there, Marko Jazbec of reinsurer Pozavarovalnica Sava told the press.
According to the chairman of the parent company, the main obstacle is legislation. "We have also had some inquiries in Albania, but we cannot announce entry onto the Bosnian or Albanian market just yet."
Meanwhile, the 5.5% drop in net profit compared to 2016 was a consequence of major damage payouts related to natural disasters, in both the insurance and reinsurance segments.
Gross damages were up by 14.9% to EUR 310m, while net expenses for damage payouts were up by 10.3% to EUR 296.1m.
In the reinsurance segment, Jazbec singled out payments related to hurricanes in the Caribbean and the US worth EUR 4m and a major damage event in Russia worth EUR 3.8m.
He said that the group planned to record a slight growth in collected gross premiums to above EUR 520m, while net profit was expected to increase to between EUR 37m and EUR 39m.
Pozavarovalnica Sava collected EUR 153.2m in gross premiums last year, up 3.9% compared to 2016, while net profit was up by 0.3% to EUR 33m.
Zavarovalnica Sava, the Maribor-based insurer which is part of the Sava Re group, alone posted a EUR 25m net profit last year, which is slightly more than in 2016 (by EUR 1.5m).
It collected EUR 365.7m in gross insurance premiums, while paying out a total of EUR 236.6m in gross damages, with both figures going up by 5% year-on-year, Zavarovalnica Sava said in a press release.
Chairman David Kastelic noted that the insurer had launched a supplementary health insurance plan at the end of 2017, and would start marketing an upgraded property insurance plan next week.
Zavarovalnica Sava, the second largest insurer in Slovenia, is even more ambitious this year than last year, as it plans to post a net profit of EUR 30m.
The STA also reports that Sava Re has acquired a 92.94% stake in Energoprojekt Garant, a small Serbian insurer specialising in construction and liability insurance.
Sava Re signed the sales contract with the owner of the Belgrade-based insurer, Energoprojekt Holding, in November, acquiring the necessary regulatory clearances a week ago.
Having thus met the suspensive condition for the acquisition, a block trade representing the 92.84% stake was announced on the Belgrade Stock Exchange today.
Sava Re will become the formal owner of the shares as soon as they are transferred to its account with the local securities clearing company.
In accordance with Serbian law, Sava Re will then announce its intention to take over the remaining stake, Sava Re said in a regulatory filing with the Ljubljana Stock Exchange.
The insurer said it believed the take-over would allow it to further diversify its Serbian non-life insurance portfolio.
Once attaining sole ownership, Sava Re intends to merge the Serbian insurer with its existing subsidiary, the Serbian non-life insurer Sava Neživotno Osiguranje from Belgrade.
Apart from its Slovenia operations, Sava Re also has subsidiaries in Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Kosovo.
Chairman Marko Jazbec told reporters today that the group was also eyeing the Bosnian and Albanian markets, and seeking to increase its presence in Serbia and Croatia through smaller takeovers.
ava Re, Slovenia's second largest insurance group, has acquired a 92.94% stake in Energoprojekt Garant, a small Serbian insurer specialising in construction and liability insurance.
Sava Re signed the sales contract with the owner of the Belgrade-based insurer, Energoprojekt Holding, in November, acquiring the necessary regulatory clearances a week ago.
Having thus met the suspensive condition for the acquisition, a block trade representing the 92.84% stake was announced on the Belgrade Stock Exchange today.
Sava Re will become the formal owner of the shares as soon as they are transferred to its account with the local securities clearing company.
In accordance with Serbian law, Sava Re will then announce its intention to take over the remaining stake, Sava Re said in a regulatory filing with the Ljubljana Stock Exchange.
The insurer said it believed the take-over would allow it to further diversify its Serbian non-life insurance portfolio.
Once attaining sole ownership, Sava Re intends to merge the Serbian insurer with its existing subsidiary, the Serbian non-life insurer Sava Neživotno Osiguranje from Belgrade.
Apart from its Slovenia operations, Sava Re also has subsidiaries in Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Kosovo.
Chairman Marko Jazbec told reporters today that the group was also eyeing the Bosnian and Albanian markets, and seeking to increase its presence in Serbia and Croatia through smaller takeovers.
