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• Return on Equity: Increased from 7.2% to 13.9%.

• Cash Remittance: Increased to CHF565 million, including a nonrecurring CHF62 million contribution.

• Dividend: Proposed increase to CHF8.10 per share.

• Share Buyback: Planned CHF100 million.

• Combined Ratio: Improved by 1.7 percentage points to 92.9%.

• Expense Ratio: 29.9% for full-year 2024.

• EBIT in Life Business: CHF282 million.

• Non-life Premium Growth: 2.2% in local currency.

• Investment Type Premiums: Increased by 20.2%.

• Shareholder Profit: CHF385 million, 60.6% higher than the previous year.

• Shareholders' Equity: Grew by 11.7%.

• EBIT in Non-Life: Increased by 94.9% to CHF261 million.

• CSM in Life Business: Increased to CHF5 billion.

• Asset Management and Banking EBIT: CHF89 million.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 9 Warning Sign with BLHEY.

Release Date: March 25, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• Baloise Holding AG (BLHEY) successfully initiated its refocusing strategy and is on track to meet new ambitious targets.

• The company reported strong underlying results with growth in target segments, particularly in Non-life and investment-type premiums.

• Baloise Holding AG (BLHEY) achieved a significant increase in return on equity from 7.2% to 13.9%, aligning with their target range of 12% to 15%.

• The company increased its cash remittance to CHF565 million, including a nonrecurring contribution from the optimization of the Belgium Life backlog.

• Baloise Holding AG (BLHEY) proposed an increased dividend of CHF8.10 per share and announced a planned share buyback of CHF100 million, raising the total cash payout ratio to 83%.

Negative Points

• The Life segment experienced a decline in growth, reflecting a continuing trend in Swiss group life towards semi-autonomous solutions.

• The company faced a negative impact of EUR 92 million from the sale of the Friday portfolio and the discontinuation of the ecosystem strategy.

• The combined ratio improved but still requires further work to reach the target of about 90%, with the current expense ratio at 29.9%.

• Non-life cash remittance was slightly lower than the previous year, attributed to shifts within the business portfolio.

• The restructuring and optimization in Belgium resulted in a slight decline in premiums due to the exit from the Marine business.

Q & A Highlights

Q: On Life and the CSM release ratio, how much more upside is there to that number going forward? A: Carsten Stolz, CFO, explained that the 5.4% achieved in 2024 is higher than previous years due to adjustments in the liquidity premium calculations. This is considered a sustainable level contributing to the P&L in life.