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3 March 2023

Unaudited results 2022: Sava Insurance Group generates pre-tax profit of €84m

Pursuant to the rules of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange d.d., Ljubljana, and the Market in Financial Instruments Act, Sava Re d.d., Dunajska 56, Ljubljana, makes the following announcement:

At its 19th regular session on 2 March, the Sava Re supervisory board was presented with the unaudited financial results of the Sava Insurance Group and Sava Re for 2022.

The Sava Insurance Group generated a net profit of EUR 68.2 million in 2022, exceeding the annual target by 13.7%. This translates into a return on equity of 14.9%, which is almost a quarter above the target set in the 2020–2022 strategy.

Strategic goals achieved

In 2022, the Sava Insurance Group completed the 2020–2022 strategy period, during which it successfully achieved its strategic goals. Through organic growth and the acquisition of Vita, the Group strengthened its revenue by 28% over the last three years and achieved an average return on equity of 14.7%. The Group’s outstanding performance during the strategic period was driven by improving the customer experience, through digital transformation, putting the customer at the centre and tailoring services to customers’ needs. With the strategy for 2023–2027, adopted at the end of 2022, the Sava Insurance Group remains more committed than ever to its mission and vision.

The year 2022 was marked by rising geopolitical tensions and tightening global economic conditions. This presented the Sava Insurance Group with new challenges. An advanced risk governance framework, timely action, capital strength and customer focus enabled the Sava Insurance Group to achieve virtually all the objectives planned for 2022, despite the challenging environment. Sava Re’s capital strength and solid performance were again reaffirmed last year by the “A” credit ratings from S&P Global Ratings and AM Best.

The Group recorded profits in all operating segments and, importantly, continued to improve its results in foreign markets. The higher non-life claims in Slovenia, however, are the main reason for the Group’s lower profits compared to the previous year. This decline of 10.4% versus the prior year’s record result was expected, given the rising claims frequency as the impact of the pandemic subsided and drivers took back to the road, with certain additional negative impacts from claims inflation and major weather-related claims.

Operating revenue above target

In 2022, the Group increased operating revenue to EUR 753.6 million, 7.7% above target. Gross premiums written rose by 6.1% to EUR 774.1 million. Premium growth in the non-life and reinsurance segments was even higher, partly as a result of inflation-adjusted price increases. In the international non-life segment, premiums grew by a full 19.2%. The life segment also exceeded its planned premiums, but it did not reach the previous year’s volume because of the unusually high sales in Slovenia in the prior year. Further, the Group experienced strong premium growth of 17.5% in the international life segment, driven by stronger bancassurance sales and sales through the Group’s own network.

Combined ratio also better than planned

Net non-life claims incurred in Slovenia increased mainly due to the expected normalisation of claims frequency and claims inflation. The impact of these rising expenses was partially offset by the favourable development of older year claims provisions in the Slovenian portfolio and also in the freedom of services business. The rise in international non-life claims incurred was mainly driven by higher premium volume.

The combined ratio rose as expected because of the increase in claims, but at 90.7% it is still much better than planned. This was largely due to cost efficiency, as costs grew more slowly than premiums. The relatively small overall increase of 2.7% in claims incurred at the Group level mainly reflects developments in the life segment, which saw fewer policy maturities and policy surrenders in Slovenia.

Investment portfolio impacted by financial market conditions

The value of the investment portfolio decreased from EUR 1,581.4 million to EUR 1,420.0 million, chiefly due to the adverse financial market conditions and the resulting decline in the fair value reserve within equity. This is an accounting loss, and we do not expect losses to occur on bonds at maturity. The return on the investment portfolio was 1.3%, lower than both the previous year and the target, as a result of the losses on investments measured at fair value through the profit and loss statement (impact of EUR 8.0 million). The share of investment grade assets, however, in total debt investments remained virtually unchanged, at 86.5%, compared to the previous year, reflecting a continued fundamental conservativism.

Digital transformation and placing the customer at the centre

In 2022, the Group continued to make solid progress in its development strategy of digital transformation and customer-centric business processes. Its key development activities were focused on the consolidation of customer support processes at contact centres and the introduction of centralised multi-channel solutions across several Sava Insurance Group companies. Digital and self-care solutions for customers were also further enhanced to improve the user experience.

Sustainable development

Sustainability has become an integral part of the Group’s day-to-day operations and decision-making. At the end of the year, the Group therefore adopted a sustainable development policy, which governs the sustainability management system and underlines the principles of responsible management in all areas of the business. In addition to developing products with a sustainability component, in 2022 the Group developed guidelines for the responsible underwriting of environmental, social and governance risks in non-life insurance.

The documents Unaudited Financial Statements for 2022 and Presentation of Unaudited Results for 2022 are attached.

Attachments:

Unaudited financial statements 2022

Presentation of unaudited results 2022