Alm. Brand A/S: Alm. Brand - Interim report 9M 2017

Alm. Brand generated a highly satisfactory pre-tax profit of DKK 888 million in
9M 2017. The full-year guidance is upgraded by DKK 250 million to a profit of
DKK 950-1,050 million. 

"Supported by really impressive results and strong growth in all business
areas, Alm. Brand continued its highly favourable developments," said Alm.
Brand's CEO Søren Boe Mortensen. He continued: 

"Moreover, we have a very sound business, backed by increasingly more satisfied
and loyal customers. The extremely focused customer satisfaction strategy we
have pursued for the past several years has consistently yielded better
results." 

"Our new strategy, which we introduced about a year ago, is based on our
customers' individual circumstances, ensuring that we cater to all of their
financial needs. Aiming to provide an unrivalled customer experience, we are
investing substantially in digitalisation, customer experience and growth
across the group. As we continue to make these investments in 2018, we expect
them to drive up the level of activity in the bank in particular," concluded
Søren Boe Mortensen. 

Q3 performance:

·         Non-life Insurance reported a highly satisfactory pre-tax profit of
DKK 320 million, which was considerably better than expected, lifted by a
strong claims experience and a strong investment result. 

The combined ratio was 78.7, supported by a lower level of major claims and by
run-off gains. 

Gross premiums amounted to DKK 1.3 billion, increasing by 2.7% relative to Q3
2016. Both private and commercial lines improved, reporting growth of 1.1% and
4.4%, respectively. Customer loyalty remained at a high level with an upward
trend in both segments. 

·         Pension activities generated a satisfactory pre-tax profit of DKK 23
million, which was better than expected. 

Pension contributions were up by 8% year on year. Regular payments were up by
7%, while single payments increased by 4%. In addition, payments into market
rate schemes increased by 15%. 

Growth was satisfactory and in line with the group's aim of generating growth
in regular payments in particular. 

The bonus rate was 25.0 at 30 September 2017. The high bonus rate level ensures
that Alm. Brand Pension may continue to offer one of the industry's highest
rates on policyholders' savings for guaranteed products. 

·         The bank generated an overall pre-tax profit of DKK 14 million in Q3
2017. The performance was better than expected and was favourably affected by
value adjustments, whereas costs increased as a result of investments in growth
and digitalisation. 

The forward-looking activities generated a profit of DKK 9 million, while a
profit of DKK 5 million was reported on the winding-up activities. 

The bank's loans and advances grew by 5% relative to 30 September 2016 in spite
of the more competitive market, especially for new lending to private
customers. In addition, the total portfolio of Totalkredit loans for which the
bank acted as intermediary grew by DKK 1 billion to DKK 8.2 billion. Financial
Markets experienced an increase in sales, with sales of the portfolio of the
ETF product IndexPlus in particular exceeding expectations, reaching the DKK
300 million mark at 30 September. 

Leasing exceeded a portfolio of DKK 1 billion in Q3 2017, equivalent to 9,000
cars. 

Outlook

·           The full-year guidance is upgraded by DKK 250 million to a
consolidated pre-tax profit of DKK 950-1,050 million. The guidance for Non-life
Insurance is lifted by DKK 200 million. In addition, the guidance for Banking
and Pension is lifted by DKK 10 million each, while the guidance for Other
activities is maintained. The outlook is exclusive of run-off gains for the
rest of the year. 

·           The group's consolidated profit for 2018 is expected to be in the
DKK 450-550 million range. The guidance for winding-up activities is a
break-even performance. 

Webcast and conference call

Alm. Brand will host a webcast and conference call on 15 November 2017 at 10.00
a.m. 

https://almbrand.eventcdn.net/2017q3

Analysts are invited to participate by phone: Danish analysts: [phone],
US analysts: [phone], other international analysts: [phone]
0544. 

Contact

Please direct any questions regarding this announcement to Søren Boe Mortensen,
CEO, on tel. [phone], or Susanne Biltoft, Head of Information and
Investor Relations, on tel. [phone].

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