Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) has reported a business operating profit (BOP) of $1.13bn for the second quarter of 2012, with a slump of 12% from $1.28bn during the same period last fiscal.
Zurich headquartered underwriter said that its net income attributable to shareholders (NIAS) stood at $1.07bn, down 19% from $1.33bn during the corresponding quarter earlier year.
For the three months ended 30 June 2012, its total group business volumes rose by 4% to $17.87bn from $17.12bn during the comparable period a year ago.
Its diluted earnings per share for the second quarter stood at CHF6.83, down 16% compared to CHF8.17 during the same year ago quarter.
For the latest quarter period, its business operating profit (after tax) return on common shareholders' equity (BOPAT ROE) was declined 2.3 pts to 10.9% from 13.2% during the same period of 2011.
Zurich Insurance Group chief executive officer Martin Senn said the group's performance demonstrates its strategy is working.
"It has again achieved strong levels of profitability, a very good result in the challenging environment. Profitability is driven by the disciplined approach to underwriting and our continued focus on the insurance products that enable us to maintain a resilient performance in mature markets," Senn said.
"We are successfully executing our growth strategy, as the increased contribution to business volume from the high-growth regions of Latin America, the Middle East and Asia Pacific shows, and we see promising delivery from selected mature markets. The integration of the business activities from our alliance with Banco Santander in Latin America is delivering results, further supporting the growth strategy of the Group."
