Allianz sharpens focus on profitability

FRANKFURT: Europe's biggest insurer Allianz is to focus on profitability and efficiency as part of plans to win 5 million new customers and generate 6.5 billion euros ($6.92 billion) in revenues by 2018.

The Munich-based insurer said in a statement ahead of an investor day on Tuesday that it would improve growth and productivity at its businesses and "reposition" those that were uncompetitive.

Allianz unveiled a raft of productivity initiatives to boost earnings over the coming years and achieve return on equity of 13 percent by 2018.

The comparable figure for 2014 - adjusted to exclude unrealised capital gains and losses on bonds and other items - was also 13 percent.

But like other insurers, the company is facing declining investment returns, tighter regulation and a difficult insurance market, requiring internal reforms and tight capital management to make up the difference.

"If we didn't manage the RoE, it would cyclically decline," a company spokesman said ahead of a presentation by Chief Executive Oliver Baete, who will reveal his long-awaited plans to reshape the insurer.

Baete has spent much of this year out of the public spotlight since taking charge in May, honing strategies to boost growth, profit and the share price.

Allianz said its plan aimed to strengthen its most competitive businesses and scale up smaller, high-performing activities by creating regional platforms.

"Less-profitable businesses will refocus on productivity and efficiency and release capital that can be deployed to fuel growth elsewhere," it said.

As an example of the former, Allianz will set up a joint venture with Chinese search engine group Baidu and the investment firm Hillhouse Capital in a move to establish an online insurer in China.

Allianz said it aimed to achieve 1 billion euros in annual productivity gains by 2018, in part through digitising its businesses. "Those gains will be reinvested in technology, human resources and growth," it said.

Shares in Allianz were 0.7 percent lower at 162.00 euros by 0942 GMT, in line with the German blue-chip index.

Allianz shares have risen 18 percent since the start of the year, broadly in line with the STOXX Europe 600 insurance index .