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Investing.com -- Scor SE’s (EPA:SCOR) stock fell on Wednesday following its full-year 2024 results, despite a strong fourth quarter that saw a 24% earnings beat.
The stock decline comes as investors react to a weaker-than-expected solvency ratio, which came in at 210%, six percentage points below consensus estimates of 216%.
RBC Capital Markets flagged that the solvency shortfall stemmed primarily from the finalization of an assumption review in the Life & Health segment, which had already been thought to be resolved in the third quarter.
The company posted a net income of €235 million for the fourth quarter, significantly surpassing the €190 million consensus forecast.
The Property & Casualty segment performed particularly well, with a combined ratio of 83.1%, 2.3 percentage points better than the 85.4% consensus estimate.
Catastrophe losses were also lower than expected, helping to drive the strong P&C result. However, investment income missed expectations by 7%, coming in at €195 million compared to the anticipated €210 million.
Despite the mixed results, SCOR SE reaffirmed its financial targets for 2026, including a combined ratio below 87% for 2025 and an expected return on equity of 15.2%, excluding fair value gains on options. The company also announced a dividend per share of €1.80, in line with expectations.
“While we believe the revamped business is better positioned to deliver mid-teens ROEs from FY25 onwards, supported by favourable P&C Re market conditions,” said analysts at RBC Capital Market in a note.
“The valuation opportunity remains as Scor trades at roughly half the book and earnings multiples of peers, but narrowing this valuation gap will take time and may come with a potentially higher hurdle than before to regain credibility given prior experience,” RBC added.