• Net Income (Q4 2024): EUR233 million.
• Full Year Net Income (2024): EUR728 million, excluding Life & Health review impact.
• Return on Equity (ROE): 14.9%, excluding Life & Health review impact.
• Group Solvency Ratio: 210%, an increase of 7 points from Q3 2024.
• Dividend Proposal: EUR1.8 per share.
• P&C Combined Ratio (Full Year 2024): 86.3%.
• Life & Health Insurance Service Result (Q4 2024): EUR119 million.
• Investments Regular Income Yield (Full Year 2024): 3.5%.
• Economic Value Per Share (Year-end 2024): EUR48.
• Financial Leverage: Increased to 24.5% from 21.2% at the end of 2023.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Sign with SCRYY.

Release Date: March 05, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• SCOR SE (SCRYY) reported a strong underlying performance in its P&C segment, with a full-year combined ratio of 86.3%, better than the Forward 2026 assumption of 87%.
• The company achieved a solvency ratio of 210%, demonstrating resilience and strong capital management, even after absorbing the negative impact from the Life & Health review.
• SCOR SE (SCRYY) successfully issued a EUR500 million RT1 debt, which was well-received by investors, indicating strong market confidence.
• The company reported a Q4 net income of EUR233 million, turning the full-year results positive, with an adjusted net income of EUR728 million excluding the Life & Health review impact.
• SCOR SE (SCRYY) proposed a dividend of EUR1.8 per share, reflecting confidence in its capital position and adherence to its capital management framework.

Negative Points

• The Life & Health segment showed a negative full-year result, impacted by the 2024 assumption review, indicating challenges in this business area.
• The economic value per share decreased to EUR48, down from the previous year, reflecting a decline in group economic value by 6.3% at constant economics.
• The company faced a significant impact from the Los Angeles wildfires, estimated at EUR140 million, which consumed 25% of the annual cat budget.
• SCOR SE (SCRYY) experienced a higher expense ratio in Q4 due to an expense accounting true-up, impacting the overall cost structure.
• The effective tax rate was lower in Q4 due to the reversal of cautious provisions, which may not be sustainable in future quarters.

Q & A Highlights

Q: How does the 9.6% growth in P&C renewals reconcile with the 4-6% guidance? A: Francois de Varenne, Deputy CEO and CFO, explained that the 9.6% growth reflects the success of the January 1 renewals, but the company maintains its 4-6% guidance due to factors like the lag effect in translating gross premium to insurance revenue and the impact of large commutations. Jean-Paul Conoscente, CEO of SCOR P&C, added that the growth in the Alternative Solutions portfolio affects the ISR and IFRS 17 figures.

Q: Can you clarify the impact of one-offs on net income and future buffer building? A: Francois de Varenne stated that the Q4 results include minimal one-offs, with a strong underlying performance in P&C and Life & Health. The effective tax rate was lower due to strategic profit repatriation. The company has already exceeded its buffer-building target significantly and will only pursue further buffer building opportunistically.

Q: What is the status of the P&C reserving buffer and future plans? A: Francois de Varenne confirmed that SCOR has surpassed its EUR300 million buffer target well ahead of schedule. The company will now adopt an opportunistic approach to buffer building, depending on profitability, but has no specific targets beyond the current achievement.

Q: What are the expectations for Life & Health experience variances in 2025? A: Francois de Varenne noted that while there was a negative experience variance in the US in Q4, the company is comfortable with its updated assumptions. The guidance for the insurance service result in 2025 accounts for some volatility, but significant improvements are expected as management actions continue.

Q: What are the key risks to maintaining stable technical margins in 1/1 renewals? A: Jean-Paul Conoscente highlighted that the main risk is how prices hold for upcoming renewals. The California wildfires and early consumption of cat budgets may stabilize prices, but the company remains cautious about managing its cat budget.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.