Generali's nine-month profit up despite €1.5 billion disaster hit

MILAN, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest insurer Generali reported higher nine-month profits on Friday despite a €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) hit from natural disasters and said it was on track to exceed the targets in its three-year plan ending in 2027. 

• Operating profit rose 8.5% to €6.45 billion, while adjusted net profit climbed 12% to €3.7 billion. Both figures were broadly in line with a company-provided analyst consensus

• More than €800 million of the natural disaster losses were related to the third quarter, finance chief Cristiano Borean told reporters

• The combined impact of natural disasters and €323 million in man-made losses was €1.1 billion higher than a year ago, Borean said

• "We expect very few additional impacts from natural disasters this quarter; any impact will be largely offset by the coverage we have in place," he added

• Natural catastrophes and man-made losses worsened the non-life business's undiscounted combined ratio, a measure of underwriting profitability, by 0.9 percentage points to 95.1%, versus a consensus forecast of 94.8%

• Generali is caught up in Italy's financial-sector takeover battle as Intesa Sanpaolo seeks to buy Monte dei Paschi (MPS), which owns a 13% stake in the insurer through Mediobanca

• Asked about Intesa's bid for MPS, Borean said: "We are focused on our strategy. We speak through our numbers and will continue to do so"

• Generali's solvency ratio was 211% at end-September, down from 219% at end-2025, reflecting increased market volatility and wider spreads on government bonds, Borean said

• The ratio is broadly unchanged as of Friday, he added

• "We have great confidence in our ability to exceed all the goals of our strategic plan," Borean said

• Generali's 2027 plan targets annual earnings per share growth of 8% to 10% and more than €7 billion in cumulative dividends

($1 = 0.9042 euros)

(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro. Editing by Giulia Segreti and Mark Potter)