The reinsurer Scor saw its net result fall into negative territory last year, suffering a loss of 301 million euros, according to its results published Thursday, at the end of a daunting year 2022 marked in particular by the cost of natural disasters.
The group’s annual results are very disappointing, recognized in a press release the emblematic president of the company Denis Kessler, who wants to open a new page in 2023 and return to the path of profitability.
The year 2022 was marked by a high frequency of natural disasters and other climate-related events, including floods in Australia, Hurricane Ian in the United States, hailstorms in France and one of the worst droughts in the history of Brazil, detailed the company, whose activity consists in insuring insurers.
The non-life reinsurance branch, SCOR Global P&C, is logically very affected. While it recorded a 13.5% increase in its gross premiums placed at constant exchange rates last year, its combined ratio, a key indicator which relates the amount of premiums received to reimbursements made, stands at 113.2%.
When this ratio is above 100, insurers and reinsurers find themselves in deficit territory.
Gross premiums put, equivalent to turnover, have also increased company-wide last year by 4.9% constant exchange rates compared to 2021, 19.7 billion euros.
However, the group returned to profit at the end of the year, with a net profit of 208 million euros in the last quarter, a small consolation after the first three in the red.
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The Board of Directors intends to continue on this trend in 2023. To this end, at the end of January it appointed a new Chief Executive Officer, in the person of Thierry Lger, current head of underwriting for the Swiss Re group. functions from 1 May.
Despite its losses, Scor will propose to its shareholders on May 25 at the general meeting a dividend of 1.40 euro per share, down from the 1.80 euro proposed last year.
The main lines of the strategic plan will be presented on this occasion, underlines Mr. Kessler, in order to implement it without delay with great determination.