Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, 3Q Operating Profit 416.1 Billion KRW... 4.7% YoY Increase "Solid Growth Amid Uncertainty"

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance announced on the 10th that its operating profit for the third quarter increased by 4.7% year-on-year to 416.1 billion KRW.

During the same period, sales (gross written premiums) amounted to 5.1004 trillion KRW, and net profit was 282.6 billion KRW, increasing by 2.7% and 1.6% respectively compared to the same period last year.

Accumulated pre-tax profit up to the third quarter this year was 1.4144 trillion KRW, and net profit was 1.0326 trillion KRW, up 1.9% and 1% respectively from the previous year. This represents a 13.6% increase excluding the special dividend from Samsung Electronics last year.

Accumulated sales up to the third quarter recorded 14.988 trillion KRW, up 1.8% from last year. By insurance category, all business sectors showed growth with general insurance up 15.4%, automobile insurance up 1.0%, and long-term insurance up 0.2%.

The combined ratio (loss ratio + expense ratio), which measures insurance business efficiency, recorded 100.7%, down 0.8 percentage points from the same period last year as a result of pursuing qualitative growth focused on profitability.

Looking at the loss ratios by insurance category, general insurance temporarily increased in the third quarter due to natural disasters such as heavy rain and typhoons, but the cumulative figure rose by only 0.1 percentage points year-on-year to 75.3%.

Long-term insurance showed signs of stabilization due to strengthened regulations by financial authorities related to excessive claims and payment reviews of actual loss insurance, recording 81.0%, an improvement of 1.9 percentage points compared to the previous year.

Automobile insurance increased in the third quarter compared to the first half due to natural disasters such as heavy rain and the rise in accident occurrences following the recovery of daily life, with the cumulative combined ratio for the third quarter at 94.6%, up 0.2 percentage points year-on-year.

Hong Seong-woo, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, said, "Despite the ongoing domestic and international uncertainties, we are delivering solid performance. We will thoroughly prepare for the expected environmental changes in the remaining period and focus on securing a profit base after the introduction of IFRS17 to achieve differentiated results."