Länsförsäkringsgruppen (Länsförsäkringar Alliance) the year 2003 in brief
Länsförsäkringsgruppen (Länsförsäkringar Alliance) The year 2003 in brief · Continued significant earnings improvements in all three core areas non-life insurance, life assurance and banking. · The technical result for non-life insurance amounted to a profit of SEK 983 M (loss: 431). · Operating profit amounted to SEK 2 148 M. Länsförsäkringar's share of the non-life insurance market rose to 30.7% (29.3). · Profit for life assurance operations amounted to SEK 3,820 M (loss: 12,442). Market share (new sales) was unchanged at 10.5%. Total return in the life assurance company was 8.5% (negative: 10.1). · Operating profit for the bank operations amounted to SEK 103.8 M (32.7) before loan losses and SEK 64.9 M (19.5) after loan losses. Probable and confirmed loan losses account for 0.13% (0.07) of the total lending volume. · Lending by the bank increased by 51% to SEK 30 billion. Mortgage loans increased by 106% and amounted to SEK 16.2 billion. Länsförsäkringar accounts for about 10% of the growth in housing loans to households. · Streamlining measures and focus on profitability produced clear results: The combined ratio for non-life insurance improved to 101% (113). The expense ratio improved to 20% (23) and administrative expenses within life assurance were reduced by SEK 241 M, corresponding to 22%. · Brokered insurance products accounted for about half of Länsförsäkringar's total sales to commercial customers during 2003. · An independent review showed that internal transactions between Länsförsäkringar Liv and Länsförsäkringar Sak have been handled correctly and that cooperation between the life and non-life operations is in the best interests of customers. "All areas of Länsförsäkringar now report satisfactory profitability. Market shares increased and confidence in our brand was strengthened - our customers are the most satisfied within the insurance industry. Länsförsäkringar Bank continued to expand and our bank customers are now also among the most satisfied customers in the industry. To benefit our customers, we are continuously developing our strategy of maintaining a local presence and proximity to the customer and offering a wide range of banking and insurance products and services. Our streamlining measures and focus on profitability will continue with the same intensity as last year, says Tommy Persson, Managing Director Länsförsäkringar AB, the Group's jointly-owned company." For additional information, contact: Tommy Persson +46 8-588 400 00 Managing Director Länsförsäkringar AB Christer Baldhagen, Senior Vice President +46 8-588 415 01 Corporate Communications Länsförsäkringar AB +46 70-579 70 66 christer.baldhagen@lansforsakringar.se ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/02/20/20040220BIT00250/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/02/20/20040220BIT00250/wkr0002.pdf The full report