Thursday, February 14, 2013

Zurich Insurance Net capital gains on investments 2012

Best Insurance stock - Zurich Insurance Net capital gains on investments 2012 : Zurich Insurance Group AG, Switzerland�s biggest insurer, said fourth-quarter profit rose 82 percent after higher capital gains on investments.

Net income increased to $983 million from $540 million a year earlier, the Zurich-based company said today in a statement. That beat the $521.1 million average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Business operating profit fell to $540 million from $983 million in the year-earlier quarter.


Zurich Insurance will keep its dividend unchanged at an 11- year high of 17 Swiss francs ($18.52) a share, after increasing the payout to that level in 2010. Net capital gains on debt and equity investments were $1.04 billion in the fourth quarter compared with a loss of $78 million in the year-earlier period.

�Results were better than expected, but only on the bottom line, which was clearly due to higher realized capital gains,� said Daniel Bischof, a Zurich-based analyst with Helvea. �For me the operating profit is more important, and there they were rather disappointing because of the general insurance business.�

Net capital gains on investments totaled $2.2 billion in 2012, driven by sales of debt and equity securities.

�We continue to execute our proven strategy, growing our business in emerging markets while delivering a resilient performance in mature markets,� Chief Executive Officer Martin Senn said in the statement today. �This strong underlying profitability ensures we remain well positioned to continue to deliver for our customers, employees and shareholders in 2013.�(source http://www.bloomberg.com )

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