Allianz Q4 profit nearly doubles

(Reuters) — Allianz SE reported Friday that its fourth-quarter net profit nearly doubled from the year-earlier period, helped by its life and health insurance business, especially in the United States and Italy.

Net profit attributable to shareholders rose to €2.151 billion ($2.328 billion) from €1.104 billion but was just short of a €2.186 billion consensus forecast.

Allianz’s fourth-quarter report also showed that its real estate portfolio shrank to €58.4 billion last year, down from €62.3 billion in 2022, as the German insurer revalued some holdings and sold others.

Allianz, one of Europe’s largest investors, faces portfolio pressure in both its home market and the United States as prices and demand for commercial real estate decline sharply.

Investors are closely watching to what extent financial institutions, funds and other property owners are revising the values of their holdings or selling as the market declines.

The share of Allianz’s portfolio allocated to office buildings fell to 49% from 52% over the course of last year, dropping below 50% for the first time in at least a decade, company presentations show. In 2013 it stood at 62%.

At the same time, its portfolio allocation to Germany – which is going through its most severe real estate crisis in decades – edged down to 17%, compared with 18% in 2022 and 29% in 2013.

Its allocation to the United States dropped slightly.

Finance chief Claire-Marie Coste-Lepoutre said Allianz was invested in real estate for the long term, adding that its holdings were high quality and that it would consider acquisitions.