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Investing.com -- Shares of Mapfre (BME:MAP) fell by 1.2% as the insurer’s fourth-quarter earnings revealed mixed results. While the company beat consensus with net results of €248 million, driven by strong performance in Brazil and its MAPFRE RE division, concerns over its Iberia Motor business weighed on investor sentiment.
Mapfre’s group combined ratio (COR) for the fourth quarter of 2024 stood at 93.4%, outperforming consensus expectations by approximately 2.3 percentage points. However, the Iberia net results were about 20% below consensus, with the Motor combined ratio at 105.4%, consistent year-over-year but showing signs of deterioration compared to the third quarter’s 100.2%. The Iberia division also reported a €27 million net impact from the DANA storm.
Gross written premiums (GWP) for the quarter amounted to €1,938 million, a decrease of roughly 7% year-over-year (YoY). This decline was primarily due to a significant drop in Life GWP, which fell by approximately 32% YoY, although Non-Life premiums saw an increase of about 7% YoY across all business lines.
In Brazil, Mapfre’s net results for the quarter were €67 million, surpassing the consensus estimate of €54 million. The Brazilian COR for the quarter was an impressive 68.6%, with a General P&C COR of 57.7% and Motor COR of 101.2%. However, GWP in Brazil was around 10% lower YoY, affected by the depreciation of the Brazilian real and rising interest rates.
The North American division reported net results of €27 million for the fourth quarter, aligning with consensus, and a COR of 99.2%, slightly improved from the previous year’s 101.1%.
Mapfre RE, the company’s reinsurance division, posted a net result of €118 million for the quarter, ahead of the consensus estimate of €84 million. Its COR was 88.6%, showing a strong improvement from 97.2% the year before.
Despite these positive aspects, the final dividend of €9.5c was below the consensus of €10c, leading to a 2024 dividend per share (DPS) of €16c, up from €15c in 2023, and a dividend yield of approximately 5.7%.
Barclays (LON:BARC) commented on the results, stating, "Today’s results show continuous signs of deterioration in Iberia Motor regardless of the recent efforts to turn the business with price increases and portfolio pruning. On the contrary, Brazil and MAPFRE RE show strong margin improvements. DPS slightly lower than consensus expected."
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