+ Profit before tax for 2007 confirmed at €340 million (+43%)
+ Preliminary premium volume written in 2007 excluding acquisitions increased by 3.3% to €5,259 million
+ Eastern European business increased by more than 25% through exceptional organic growth

According to preliminary consolidated data, the UNIQA Group achieved a profit before tax (IFRS) during the past financial year of approximately €340 million. This completely confirms the forecast made in autumn. The earnings represent a significant increase of 43% over the year 2006 (€238.5 million).

According to the preliminary data for the 2007 financial year, the consolidated premium volume written of the UNIQA Group (incl. the savings portion from unit-linked life insurance) experienced a growth of 3.3% to about €5,259 million. The companies in Austria contributed €3,516 million. This places the premium growth at 2.8%, which is within the range of expected market growth.

The Group companies in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe increased their premium volumes - including as part of the successfully expanded “preferred partnership” with local Raiffeisen banks - by 25.6% to approximately €803 million. These values do not include the premiums of the Group companies in Romania, the Ukraine and Albania. This development therefore does not include any acquisition-related consolidation effects.

Due solely to the exceptionally high level of single premiums in Italy in the year 2006 and the generally declining life insurance market in Italy during 2007, the premium volume in Western Europe decreased by 8.8% to €941 million. It was possible to increase the premiums in Western Europe in the non-life insurance lines by 4.3%. According to the preliminary figures for 2007, the international business therefore made up a share of over 33% of the total Group premiums.

Property and casualty insurance
The preliminary premium volume written in property and casualty insurance was, at €2,181 million, about 7.1% above last year’s figures. Here as well, the region of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe exhibited the strongest growth with a premium increase of 20.2% to €513 million and growth rates considerably above those of the respective market data. In Austria, the growth in this segment was 2.7% - the premiums reached €1,267 million. In the Western European markets, it was possible to achieve a very satisfactory premium growth rate in consideration of the general market situation with an increase of 6.6% to €401 million thanks to intensive efforts to expand the sales capacities. The growth of the UNIQA companies in both Italy and Germany therefore considerably exceeded the general market trends. The share of foreign business in property and casualty insurance was therefore already around 42%.

Life insurance
The life insurance business was characterised in 2007 by very positive developments in the Eastern and South-Eastern European companies. They were able to increase their premium volume by 35.6% to the present €285 million. In Austria, the premiums increased by roughly 3.1% to €1,525 million. The growth in unit-linked life insurance was exceptionally strong here with a premium increase of 41%. In Western Europe, the premiums from life insurance declined by 24% to €361 million due to the declining market in Italy. This put the share of the international companies in total Group premiums at approximately 30%. Overall, the UNIQA Group’s life insurance premiums written increased by 0.3% to €2,170 million.

Health insurance
In health insurance, the preliminary premiums of the UNIQA Group were 2.0% above the level of the previous year at around €908 million. In Austria, premium volume grew by 2.3% to about €724 million. In international business, the premiums written increased to €184 million. This means that roughly 20% of the health insurance premiums originated from markets outside of Austria.

Despite the storm damage at the start of 2007 and further reserve-strengthening measures, it was possible to achieve additional improvements in the technical results. The cost developments lay within expectations. Increased investments in organic growth in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe resulted in stronger-than-market growth for UNIQA in these regions, and it was possible to achieve the strategic goal of a market share exceeding 5% in property and casualty insurance.
The 2007 profit before tax, which were originally planned at €270 million and increased several times over the course of the year, can be confirmed at €340 million according to the preliminary figures. Consequently, a correspondingly large dividend increase will be recommended to the Supervisory Board and the Annual General Meeting.