Zurich strives for further growth and wants to increase returns
Published: Thursday, Nov 21st 2024, 08:20
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Zurich Insurance Group has set itself new, more ambitious targets for the next three years. The globally active insurance group wants to continue to grow profitably and pay out generous dividends to shareholders in the future.
Zurich has already generated market-leading shareholder returns in the past and sees new opportunities to even accelerate its success story, Group CEO Mario Greco was quoted as saying in a press release ahead of Thursday's investor meeting. To this end, the Group is launching a new three-year plan with "the most ambitious targets in its history".
From 2025 to 2027, Zurich is now aiming for a return on operating profit (ROE) of at least 23%. In the three-year program, which actually runs until the end of 2025 and is being replaced, the benchmark is at least 20 percent. The Group had already clearly exceeded this in 2023 (23%) or in the first half of 2024 (25%).
As far as the profit growth target is concerned, Zurich aims to increase adjusted earnings per share (EPS) by an average of more than 9 percent over the next three years. For this year, Zurich expects EPS growth of more than 10 percent, compared to the previous target of a lower 8 percent.
In the new strategy period, the Group is focusing on business with corporate customers, for example. In addition, premium growth of 8% on average per year is also targeted in the life insurance business.
Greco intends to continue creating "considerable added value" for shareholders in the future with a "very attractive" dividend policy. The payout ratio of the profit generated will remain at around 75% in the future.
To ensure that sufficient funds are available for this, cumulative cash remittances of over USD 19 billion are to be generated over the next three years. In the previous program from 2023 to 2025, such cash flows of 13.5 billion were targeted.
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