TRIEST (dpa-AFX) - Generali earned more than ever before in the past year thanks to brilliant business with life and health insurance. The Italian insurer also continued to benefit from the restructuring of Philippe Donnet, the group's chief executive, who has now been in office for seven years and has focused the group on higher-margin business. In 2022, operating profit rose by 11 percent to a record 6.5 billion euros, as the group, which also has a strong presence in Germany and competes with Allianz and Talanx, among others, announced in Trieste on Tuesday. The company thus exceeded experts' expectations.

Below the line, however, Generali earned 2.9 billion euros, only slightly more than the previous year. This was due, among other things, to write-downs on financial assets and the stake in Russian insurer Ingosstrach. The dividend is to rise by nine cents to 1.16 euros per share. Donnet had announced in December 2021 that it intended to pay shareholders significantly more in dividends than in previous years. Between 5.2 and 5.6 billion euros are to be paid out to shareholders as a direct share of profits in the years 2022 to 2024. For the past year, the total dividend amounts to 1.8 billion euros. In terms of premiums, the company recorded an increase of one and a half percent to 81.5 billion euros./zb/knd/tih