Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services on Thursday reported a six percent increase in annual net profit in 2009 to 3.2 billion dollars (2.3 billion euros), promising a big dividend for shareholders.
“2009 was an excellent year for Zurich,” chief executive officer Martin Senn said in a statement.
Senn, who replaced James Schiro as Zurich boss on January 1, said that ZFS “emerged from a challenging year with one of our strongest balance sheets ever.”
Gross premiums and policy fees in general insurance, the group’s biggest sector, fell by 8.0 percent compared to the previous year to 34.2 billion dollars.
However, the group managed to underpin overall operating profit, which grew by 8.0 percent to 5.6 billion dollars, as an ongoing internal cost cutting drive “comfortably exceeded” a 900-million-dollar annual target.
Zurich said it would recommend a gross dividend to shareholders of 16 Swiss francs per share, compared to 11 francs last year.
“The dividend proposal reflects the board’s confidence in Zurich’s business strategy and the sustainability of its results,” said Senn.
The group’s share price jumped 4.75 percent to 242.8 Swiss francs in early trading on the Swiss exchange.
