FRANKFURT--Germany's Allianz SE (ALV.XE) said Tuesday positive
currency translation effects and rising stock markets lifted
first-quarter profits, offsetting weaker operating profit
contributions from bond-fund manager Pacific Investment Management
Co. and the property and casualty insurance operations.
Last week, Allianz reported a net profit rise of 11% to EUR1.82
billion euros ($2.03 billion) and a 4.8% rise in operating profit
to EUR2.86 billion for the first quarter, but hadn't given a
breakdown of the individual business units. It said then it was
confident about reaching the full-year operating profit goal of
EUR10.4 billion plus or minus EUR400 million after a good start to
the year.
Allianz has property/casualty and life/health insurance
operations and an asset management business that includes Pimco and
smaller peer Allianz Global Investors.
According to the figures released Tuesday, asset management
contributed 14% lower operating profit of EUR555 million to the
quarterly results. While assets under management and third-party
assets under management both rose, these were driven by market
value increases and positive currency translation effects--mainly
the weaker euro against the dollar--which more than offset Pimco's
EUR68.3 billion net asset outflows. The cost-income ratio rose to
64.7% from 57.4%.
Positive currency translation effects led to a EUR145 billion
one-time gain in the asset management business, Allianz said.
Developments at the asset management business are closely
watched as Pimco tries to reinvent itself after last year's
turbulent management reshuffle at the top that culminated in the
exit of co-founder and chief investment officer Bill Gross in
September and weakened the world's biggest fund manager.
Write to Ulrike Dauer at ulrike.dauer@wsj.com
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