Vienna Insurance Group Q1 2025 presentation: 8.1% revenue growth, confirms full-year guidance

Introduction & Market Context

Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) reported solid first-quarter 2025 results, demonstrating continued growth across key financial metrics while expanding its footprint in Central and Eastern European markets. During its May 27 presentation, the company highlighted its geographic diversification strategy and active capital management initiatives that supported performance in an environment where CEE economies continue to outpace Western European growth.

VIG’s shares have shown strong performance in early 2025, reaching a high of €46.25 on May 21, though the stock closed slightly lower at €18.28 as of May 26, according to available market data.

Quarterly Performance Highlights

VIG reported robust financial results for the first quarter of 2025, with insurance service revenue increasing 8.1% year-over-year to €3.14 billion and profit before taxes growing 7.5% to €261.1 million. The company’s P&C net combined ratio improved to 92.3% from 92.7% in the same period last year, indicating enhanced underwriting efficiency.

As shown in the following comprehensive overview of key performance metrics:

Gross written premiums, which are not part of IFRS 17/9 reporting but provide insight into business volume, rose 8.3% to €4.65 billion compared to Q1 2024. This growth was driven by strong performances across most geographic segments, with Extended CEE and Special Markets showing particularly robust increases.

The following chart illustrates the premium growth across VIG’s key markets:

Insurance service revenue growth was broad-based across VIG’s operating regions, with Special Markets showing the strongest increase at 38.0% year-over-year. The Extended CEE region, which includes Romania, Slovakia, the Baltics, Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, and Ukraine, delivered 10.7% growth in insurance service revenue, reaching €933.1 million.

The following breakdown shows insurance service revenue growth by region and highlights key drivers:

Strategic Initiatives

VIG’s performance is underpinned by its geographic diversification strategy, which provides resilience against market-specific challenges. The company operates across multiple countries in Central and Eastern Europe, a region expected to outpace Euro area GDP growth in both 2025 and 2026.

The following chart illustrates how VIG’s business is diversified across different regions:

This diversification is particularly valuable given the robust economic outlook for CEE markets. According to forecasts presented by VIG, the CEESE region is expected to grow by 2.6% in 2025, significantly outperforming the Euro area’s projected 0.7% growth. Countries like Poland (3.5%), Bulgaria (2.8%), and Croatia (2.8%) are expected to be among the strongest performers.

The following chart and table highlight the growth differential between CEESE markets and the Euro area:

During Q1 2025, VIG undertook several strategic initiatives to strengthen its market position in the CEE region:

1. Established Vienna Life, a new life insurance company in Albania, enhancing its presence in Southeast Europe

2. Acquired a stake in Phinance, one of Poland’s largest financial brokers, through its Polish subsidiary Vienna Life

3. Participated in the bidding process to acquire Moldasig, a leading non-life insurer in Moldova

VIG also demonstrated active capital management by successfully placing a €300 million Sustainability Tier 2 Bond in March 2025, with proceeds earmarked for eligible green and social assets. The bond was oversubscribed by 3x and achieved the lowest spread ever for VIG’s subordinated notes (MS+195bps). Concurrently, the company repurchased approximately €126 million of subordinated notes issued in 2015 and 2017.

The following chart shows the geographic distribution of investors in the sustainability bond:

Forward-Looking Statements

VIG’s management confirmed its target of achieving profit before taxes within the range of €950 million to €1 billion for the 2025 financial year, supported by the solid start in Q1. The company also announced that a dividend of €1.55 per share was approved by the Annual General Meeting, with payment scheduled for May 28, 2025.

The company’s outlook is supported by expectations of continued economic outperformance in its core CEE markets, where rising real wages and strong private consumption are driving resilient growth. VIG’s extensive regional network positions it well to capitalize on these favorable market conditions.

As summarized in the company’s executive summary and outlook:

VIG’s solvency position remains strong with a ratio of 271% as of year-end 2024, though this represents a slight decrease from 269% at year-end 2023. The company’s sensitivity analysis indicates that its solvency position is most vulnerable to interest rate decreases, with a 100bps downward shift potentially reducing the solvency ratio by 19.4%.

With its diversified geographic footprint, solid financial performance, and strategic expansion initiatives, Vienna Insurance Group appears well-positioned to achieve its 2025 targets while continuing to strengthen its market leadership in Central and Eastern Europe.

Full presentation:

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