By By Pierre Bertrand
Scor shares took a hit in early trading on Thursday following the release of the French insurer’s second-quarter results, which fell short of some analysts’ expectations.
At 0736 GMT, shares were down 5.5% at EUR27.09.
The company reported a net profit of 192 million euros ($212.8 million) for the quarter, compared to a loss of EUR240 million in the same period last year. However, its insurance revenue only saw a 1.5% increase to reach EUR3.93 billion.
According to Citi analysts, while Scor’s net income met overall expectations, it fell short on solvency and its combined ratio.
Despite minimal natural catastrophes and a higher discount effect, the insurer’s property and casualty combined ratio of 88.5% missed consensus expectations by 4.5 percentage points, as noted by Citi.
Citi’s analysts James Shuck and Samant Singh expressed the need for further explanation beyond the mentioned additional reserve prudency and impact from the French riots in their research note.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Derald Goh commented that while Scor’s Solvency II ratio of 213% is considered sound, it was disappointing and missed the consensus of 223%.
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