Polish insurer PZU beats profit expectations on higher premiums (updated)
20/11/2025 06:29
Updates with share reaction and analyst comment in paragraphs 4-6, divisional performance in paragraph 7; adds graphic and bullet-point summary GDANSK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Poland's largest insurer PZU PZU.WA reported a 64% jump in its third-quarter profit on Thursday, driven by higher revenues from premiums coupled with lower insurance claims. PZU's net profit was 2 billion zlotys ($545 million) in the quarter, exceeding the 1.6 billion zlotys analysts polled by the company had forecast. The result was supported by sizeable growth in the mass-market and corporate property insurance segments, and by lower claim-related costs after the year-ago quarter was impacted by significant flood-related damages, the insurer said. As of 0801 GMT, shares of PZU were trading 4% higher, making it the biggest gainer on Poland's blue-chip WIG20 index .WIG20. "Thanks to lower claims and benefits in the quarter, the company recorded very strong income from insurance services," Erste Group analyst Lukasz Janczak said in a note to investors. He added that while the resulting low loss ratio was not sustainable, the strong result should allow for upgrades to analysts' full-year estimates and confirmed the potential for a high dividend next year. The rebound was most pronounced in the insurer's mass-market segment, where operating profit jumped to 715 million zlotys from just 41 million a year earlier. The corporate insurance segment's operating earnings also more than doubled to 309 million zlotys. The results are the first under CEO Bogdan Benczak, who was appointed for the job in late September. His predecessor was dismissed in August in a management reshuffle driven by Poland's Ministry of State Assets. PZU is planning a merger with Poland's second-biggest lender, Bank Pekao PEO.WA, in a deal that would create a financial group with a combined market value of more than 100 billion zlotys. The tie-up is slated for completion by mid-2026. ($1 = 3.6684 zlotys) PZU's mass-market insurance profit bounces back in Q3 https://reut.rs/3XCoPoP (Reporting by Rafal Nowak and Mateusz Rabiega, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak) ((RafalWojciech.Nowak@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 66 63; mateusz.rabiega@thomsonreuters.com))