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Investing.com -- Storebrand ASA (OSE:STB) shares fell by 8% following the company’s fourth quarter financial results, which revealed several missed targets.
The Norwegian financial services company reported cash equivalent earnings from operations for the fourth quarter of 2024 that were 15.6% below expectations. The full-year figure also disappointed, coming in 4.3% under projections.
The company’s fee income and insurance results for the quarter missed estimates by 2.7% and 13.2%, respectively, while operational expenses exceeded expectations by 1.1%.
Despite financial items and the risk result outperforming estimates by 1.7%, this was not enough to counterbalance other underperforming areas. For the full year, the insurance result was 3.4% less than anticipated, and operational expenses were up by 0.5%.
Storebrand’s savings, insurance, pension, and other segments all reported earnings below expectations for the fourth quarter, with pension earnings missing by a significant 27.3%. The company’s profit before tax and profit after tax for the quarter also fell short by 13.4% and 29.7%, respectively, and the dividend per share (DPS) was 8.7% less than expected.
The combined ratio, an indicator of profitability in the insurance industry, was 4.0 percentage points less favorable than anticipated for the quarter, although the Solvency II ratio, a measure of capital adequacy, beat expectations by 4.0 percentage points.
On a positive note, Storebrand’s assets under management (AUM) exceeded estimates with a 2.5% increase. However, the company’s overall performance was overshadowed by the negative results in key financial metrics.
Analysts at Jefferies commented on the results, stating, "While we understand that price rises are starting to earn through positively (50% of premiums are renewed in the first quarter of 2025), the presentation highlights elevated large losses, and unfavorable reserve development as being notable headwinds."
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