Pursuant to the rules of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange d.d., Ljubljana and the Market in Financial Instruments Act, Sava Re d.d., Dunajska 56, Ljubljana makes the following announcement:

At its regular meeting yesterday, the Sava Re supervisory board was presented with the unaudited financial results of the Sava Insurance Group and Sava Re for the nine months to 30 September 2021.

In the first nine months of 2021, the Sava Insurance Group generated EUR 548.8 million in operating revenue and a net profit of EUR 57.2 million. The Sava Insurance Group’s operating revenue and net profit represented 80% and 108%, respectively, of the full-year 2021 targets. The net profit increased by 20% compared to the first nine months last year. The management board believes that the estimated profit for 2021 published after the close of the half year will be exceeded.

Gross premium growth of 9.1%

In the first nine months, the Group wrote EUR 578.1 million in gross premiums, up 9.1% year on year. The growth in gross premiums written was largely driven by Slovenian life business (55.4% growth), reflecting the Group’s acquisition of Vita last year, which contributed EUR 74.3 million in gross premiums written during the period. The Group also posted premium growth in the international reinsurance segment (9.7% growth) and in the Slovenian non-life segment (4.4% growth) if the Freedom of Service (FoS) business is excluded.

In the first nine months, the Group’s operating revenue grew by 11.1%. In addition to the segments mentioned above, this growth was driven by the good performance of the pensions and asset management segment as a result of strong sales of financial products by the Group’s non-insurance companies and favourable trends in financial markets.

Improving profitability of operating segments

Profitability was supported by a relatively benign claims experience thanks to a lower loss rate in the motor business, the inclusion of Vita in the Group, and the improved performance of pension and asset management business through favourable growth in assets under management. Results this year to-date exceed last year, boosted by a one-off income of EUR 7.0 million last year related to the acquisition of Vita. By contrast, there was a minor decline in the profitability of the reinsurance segment (due to major loss events in the third quarter) and in the life business in Slovenia (excluding Vita) and abroad.

The net expense ratio improved by 1.2 p.p. year on year, significantly supported by growth in the life business.

Investment portfolio stable with improved return

The investment process and the Group’s investment portfolio remained largely unchanged this year to-date. The nine-month 2021 return on the investment portfolio was 1.9%, up 0.2 p.p. year on year. This increase was mainly due to lower expenses for fair value changes through profit or loss as a result of more favourable trends in financial markets compared to the same period last year. Net investment income also improved as a result of higher capital gains realised on the sale of investments.

Digital transformation, technology upgrades & customer at the centre

As part of its 2020–2022 strategy, the Group has embarked on large-scale projects aimed at digital transformation and customer-centricity. The Group is also carrying out a significant technology overhaul to support its digital transformation and to design a more modern and flexible IT architecture. A video presentation of efforts to achieve the strategic goals is available on the Company’s website, at https://www.sava-re.si/en-si/investor-relations/strategy/.

Sustainable development

The Sava Insurance Group adopted a sustainable development strategy for 2020–2022, embarking on the path of introducing ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) criteria into decision-making processes. Accordingly, during the strategic period, the focus will be on implementing these criteria in a number of areas: asset management, insurance and reinsurance underwriting, development of insurance services and purchasing. The Sava Re management board adopted a sustainability investment policy in June 2021, which highlights the problem of greenhouse gas emissions and efforts to reduce their impact on climate change. The Group has become a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment and the United Nations Global Compact. In accordance with the Regulation on Sustainability-Related Disclosure in the Financial Services Sector (SFDR), the Sava Insurance Group posted relevant sustainability-related disclosures pertaining to its investment processes on its website on 30 June 2021. In line with its adopted strategy, the Group supports social responsibility projects, with particular emphasis on corporate volunteerism. The Group reported on the implementation of its strategy in its 2020 sustainability report, posted on its website on 8 April 2021. The Group’s sustainability investment policy and its sustainability report for 2020 are available at https://www.sava-re.si/en-si/sustainability/.

Estimated full-year net profit

The management board believes that the estimated profit for 2021 announced after the close of the half year will be exceeded. The annual revenue target is also estimated to be marginally exceeded.

Certain major loss events, notably the floods in western Europe, that occurred in July 2021 impacted the third-quarter result of the reinsurance segment. The Group reported on these events in its half-year 2021 financial report under the section on significant events after the reporting date of 30 June 2021. During the fourth quarter, the most significant risks remain those related to a higher frequency of catastrophic loss events and movements in financial markets.

The documents “Unaudited financial report of the Sava Insurance Group and financial statements of Sava Re d.d. for the nine months to 2021” and “Presentation of results 1–9/2021” are attached hereto.

This announcement will also be available on the Company’s website, at www.sava-re.si, for at least five years from the date of this announcement.