Latest news with #SWSDF
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Swiss Life Holding AG (SWSDF) (Q4 2024) Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Profit Growth Amid ...
Fee Result: Up by 33% to CHF875 million. Profit from Operations: Increased by 20% to CHF1.78 billion. Net Profit: Grew by 13% to CHF1.26 billion. Return on Equity: Increased to 16.6%, up 3 percentage points. Cash Remittance: Grew by 14% to CHF1.3 billion. Dividend Proposal: Increase by 6% to CHF35 per share, payout ratio of 81%. Revenue: Decreased by 1% to CHF8.7 billion. Gross Written Premiums, Fees, and Deposits: Increased by 3% in local currency to CHF20.3 billion. Net Investment Income: Increased significantly to CHF3.7 billion. Asset Managers Total Income: Up by 22% to CHF1.2 billion. Net New Assets in TPAM Business: CHF9.5 billion. Direct Investment Yield: Increased from 2.8% to 2.9%. SST Ratio: Estimated around 200% as of December 31, 2024. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 11 Warning Signs with SWSDF. Release Date: March 14, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Swiss Life Holding AG (SWSDF) delivered a strong set of full-year results for 2024, with a 20% growth in profit from operations to CHF1.78 billion. The company successfully completed its Swiss Life 2024 program, exceeding all group financial targets, including return on equity, cash remittance, dividend payout ratio, and share buyback. Net profit increased by 13% to CHF1.26 billion, with a return on equity of 16.6%, well above the target range of 10% to 12%. Cash remittance grew by 14% to CHF1.3 billion, supported by positive timing effects and one-off contributions. The company announced an ambitious new program, Swiss Life 2027, focusing on more customers, more advisors, and more efficiency to drive business growth and shareholder returns. Revenues decreased by 1% to CHF8.7 billion due to lower CSM release and FX effects. The value of new business decreased by 19% to CHF189 million, mainly due to lower volumes and business mix effects. Operating expenses increased by 6% in local currency to CHF2.1 billion due to business growth and investments in growth initiatives. The net investment result was impacted by lower income from alternative investments, despite higher contributions from bonds, equities, and real estate. Shareholder equity decreased by 3% to CHF7.3 billion, largely due to dividend payments, changes in other OCI, and share buybacks. Q: Can you explain the difference between the reported cost income ratio of 85% for TPAM and the one recalculated based on your P&L disclosure? A: The reported cost income ratio does not include certain elements like real estate project development and other net income, which are after variable commission expenses. This might be the reason for the discrepancy in your calculations. - Marco Gerussi, CFO Q: What is the outlook for the CSM release ratio in 2025? A: We expect the CSM release ratio to be at the full-year 2024 level, possibly a bit higher, although many factors can influence this ratio. - Matthias Aellig, CEO Q: Can you discuss the sustainability of the return on surplus assets and the asset management profit, particularly the non-recurring elements? A: The return on surplus assets, driven by real estate, is seen as sustainable. The non-recurring elements in asset management, mainly from project developments, were higher than expected, contributing significantly to the fee result. - Marco Gerussi, CFO Q: How do you view the competitive environment in asset management given the current interest rate levels? A: We see competitive pressure across all markets but believe we are well-positioned to seize opportunities, particularly in real assets like real estate and infrastructure equity. - Matthias Aellig, CEO Q: What is the outlook for the French non-life operating results in 2025? A: After a significant improvement from 2023 to 2024, we expect a more normalized growth level in the coming years. - Marco Gerussi, CFO For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Al Arabiya
26-02-2025
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Exclusive Prince Sultan o team Aoki's rise to top of E1 raceboat series
Just two races into the second season of the UIM E1 World Championship presented by PIF, Saudi Arabia-backed Team Aoki is sitting second in the 2025 standings. Last year, it finished eighth of nine teams; the transformation has been impressive. The world's first all-electric raceboat series, E1 has made a major splash in the motorsport world since its inception after attracting a host of celebrity team owners including Virat Kohli, Rafa Nadal, Tom Brady and Will Smith, who was in attendance in Doha for the series' latest round. For more Saudi sports news, visit our dedicated page. At the helm of the team currently second in the championship, however, is American DJ and record producer Steve Aoki. His eponymous outfit - made up of Saudi rally driver Mashael Al-Obaidan and Spanish ex-F1 test driver Dani Clos - won the first race of the season in Jeddah and followed it up last weekend with a second-place finish in Qatar. Team Aoki is also backed by Prince Sultan bin Fahd bin Salman, the chairman of the Saudi Water Sports and Diving Federation (SWSDF). With a driver, team investor and series presenting sponsor all from the Kingdom, E1 has a distinct Saudi flavor. Providing both a sporting spectacle and important messaging around marine sustainability, E1 was an attractive proposition for Prince Sultan - a keen freediver who has repeatedly seen ocean damage firsthand. 'The emphasis on sustainability is an absolutely vital part of my involvement in E1,' SWSDF chief Prince Sultan told Al Arabiya English in Doha. 'I am obsessed with the ocean and started diving when I was 15; it has been heartbreaking to see how the coral has died at many dive sites I have visited. 'We are not just pushing sports like E1 forward, we are trying to improve awareness of the ocean and our efforts to regenerate it.' In the first season of E1, the backing of the SWSDF meant Team Aoki had two Saudi pilots: Mashael Al-Obaiden and Saud Ahmed. Al-Obaidan remains for 2025 and after another Saudi-backed team entered the competition this year - Team Alula, owned by Lebron James - Prince Sultan is now supporting Team Aoki as an individual investor. 'We want the team to become a pathway for Saudis who would like to participate in the sport,' Prince Sultan says. 'The aim is for Team Aoki to be a stepping stone for Saudi athletes. 'Mashael is here already and she is a great pilot, she's awesome. I remember when we interviewed her and she said to us, 'if you only want me to come to the team to drive, I'm not interested. I only want to race if you want me to win.' 'That's what I wanted and I think with that mentality, despite having some setbacks last year, we can be competitive. She has shown that we are all learning and growing with the sport and I think now we have a winning team together. ' The reward for that faith in Al-Obaidan came In the first race of the 2025 campaign Jeddah as Prince Sultan and Team Aoki celebrated their first ever triumph in E1. Standing atop the podium, Al-Obaidan - an experienced driver who has competed multiple times in the Dakar Rally - felt moved by the occasion. 'When they played that Saudi national anthem, I had to take a deep breath,' Al-Obaidan recalls to Al Arabiya English. 'It was just a 'wow' moment that I will never forget. I saw people's eyes, I saw them twinkling and how everyone was smiling and happy. 'That means a lot to me because I am going after my passion and pushing myself to win; Saudi Arabia deserves to actually see the result of their enablement, and this was it.' For Prince Sultan, too, it was a milestone moment in his involvement with the nascent sport, which sees each team given identical electric raceboats with only limited scope to make adjustments. The level playing field means that races are always exciting and often produce different winners. 'Jeddah was a beautiful experience,' says Prince Sultan. 'I don't think that words can do justice really, but it's a combination of a lot of hard work, a lot of training, learning from mistakes, putting a great team together. 'It's a beautiful feeling. We enjoyed it and had a great team dinner afterwards with a few of the competing teams joining us too. But then that race was done. We won, we celebrated, got out of the way and focused on the next race. 'That's how you navigate a series like this - by not getting ahead of ourselves and staying humble because the athletes on the other teams are absolutely amazing and they are tough competition.' Although E1 is still in the early stages of its development, with last week's Doha race only the seventh the series has ever held, Prince Sultan insists the sport is on an explosive growth trajectory - aided significantly by its collection of celebrity owners. Of those, he reserved particular praise for Aoki, with whom he shares a close working relationship. 'Steve is one of the nicest guys you'll meet and he cares so much because he is a huge free-diver who loves the ocean,' the SWSDF chairman explains. 'He has many, many platforms to get his message across and because his father also used to do powerboating a long time ago, there is a lot of meaning to him being involved in E1. 'Honestly, I see no limit to how big E1 can get. It's such a level playing field because the boats are equal in weight and technology - that's the beauty of this type of racing and it means there is a large amount of overtaking. It has everything people are looking for in an entertaining motorsport series.'
