Austrian insurer UNIQA announced that restructuring costs and writedowns on Greek bonds pushed it into a full-year net loss of 330 million euros ($434 million), according to preliminary figures.
The loss, which compares with a profit in the previous year of 153 million euros, was larger than expected, with the firm having predicted in November that it would end the year 250-300 million euros in the red.
It booked a restructuring charge of 190 million euros and took a hit of 346 million euros on its holdings of Greek government debt. Its “solid” underlying business however saw premiums grow 4.4 per cent to 5.4 billion euros.
“We have a robust core operational business. The special effects were naturally a burden on the result for 2011, but they take the strain off us for the future,” said chief executive Andreas Brandstetter.
In November the firm slashed the value on its accounts of its portfolio of Greek sovereign debt to 35 per cent of its nominal value of 480 million euros.
Private-sector creditors holding about 200 billion euros worth of Greek sovereign bonds are being asked to accept a writedown in value of “70 per cent or more,” Deutsche Bank head Josef Ackermann said this week.
Negotiations with private investors of Greek sovereign debt are at an “ultra difficult” stage, the chairman of the Eurogroup gathering of eurozone finance ministers Jean-Claude Juncker said Thursday.
Vienna, Feb 3, 2012 (AFP)
