NN Group climbed over 7% on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange on Thursday, as the Dutch insurer reported a solid performance for its 2023 financial year and unveiled encouraging targets.

This morning, the Group announced a stronger-than-expected rise of almost 8% in annual operating profit, which exceeded 2.5 billion euros last year.

Its so-called 'Solvency II' ratio - a closely watched indicator within the sector - remained robust at 197%, compared with 201% at the end of June 2023.

In a press release, CEO David Knibbe highlights the company's solid results in view of the current 'volatile' economic and geopolitical environment.

On the strength of this performance, NN plans to increase its annual dividend by 15% to 3.20 euros, compared with the consensus forecast of 3.10 euros.

The Group also plans to launch a 300-million-euro share buyback program, again exceeding market expectations of only 250 million euros.

The Group is now targeting free cash flow (FCF) of 1.6 billion euros by 2025.

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