Scor's fourth-quarter results skewed by Generali US acquisition

Scor S.E.'s net income for the fourth quarter of 2014 fell 45.3% over the same period in 2013 to €135 million ($151.2 million), the Paris-based reinsurer said Thursday.

Scor attributed the variation in net income to an exceptional gain of €183 million ($204.9 million) linked to its October 2013 acquisition of Generali US, which inflated its net income in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Elsewhere, gross written premiums for the fourth quarter grew 8.1% to €2.93 billion ($3.28 billion), while Scor's property/casualty operations posted a 91.1% combined ratio compared with 93.3% during the fourth quarter of 2013.

For fiscal 2014, Scor's net income fell 6.7% to €512 million ($573.3 million) with gross written premiums growing 10.4% to €11.3 billion ($12.65 billion) and its combined ratio improving to 91.4% for the year from 93.9% in fiscal 2013.

“The group delivers high-quality results in 2014,” Denis Kessler, chairman and CEO of Scor, said in a statement. “The technical profitability of Scor Global P&C — which delivers a combined ratio of 91.4% — and that of Scor Global Life — which records a technical margin of 7.1%, are highly satisfactory.”