Allianz Profit Slightly Below Forecasts

German insurer Allianz SE (ALV.XE) on Wednesday said earnings fell in the first quarter, largely due to a strong comparative first quarter in 2016.

Net profit was 1.8 billion euros ($1.97 billion) in the January-to-March period, around 18% lower than a year earlier and slightly below analysts' forecasts of EUR1.9 billion. Last year's strong figures were in part driven by valuation gains that Allianz booked on investments in its investment portfolio.

Allianz said its first-quarter revenue was EUR36.2 billion, up 2.5% from a year earlier.

The company confirmed its 2017 guidance, saying it aims for an operating profit of EUR10.8 billion for 2017, the same figure that the company reached last year, plus or minus EUR500 million.

Assets under management rose to EUR1.403 billion from EUR1.36 billion a year ago, although it didn't give explicit numbers on developments at its Pimco subsidiary. Pimco went through a turbulent period marked by heavy client withdrawals following the departure of co-founder Bill Gross in 2014, but has reported net inflows since the third quarter or 2016.

Allianz will publish full first-quarter results on May 12.

-Write to William Wilkes at william.wilkes@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 03, 2017 03:23 ET (07:23 GMT)