Danica Pension has reported a profit of DKK 494m in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021.

Publishing its Q1 results, the provider said its profit before tax was “substantially improved” compared with the same period last (DKK 22m) year, when the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic hit financial markets hard. Furthermore, the three months to 31 March 2021 produced positive investment results, which also benefitted our customers.

Danica Pension’s chief executive officer, Ole Krogh Petersen commented: “Although the Danish society, our customers and, by extension, Danica Pension are still dealing with the corona crisis, the quarter was relatively normal from a financial perspective, and we delivered good returns for our customers and a substantially improved profit relative to the same period last year. The first quarter profit and our customers’ returns are satisfactory.”

Danica Pension’s customers saw strong positive net returns in the first quarter. For customers with Danica Balance Mix, medium risk profile and 20 years to retirement, the return net of expenses was 4.1 per cent.

“Our customers have now had overall positive returns for an extended period of time, which of course is a good thing, as it helps generate financial security. It is important to note that we cannot expect the financial markets to perform as strongly in the coming years, however, and we are naturally composing our portfolio accordingly,” Krogh Petersen said.

The provider’s Danish premiums in the first quarter of 2021 totalled DKK 8,335m, compared with DKK 7,876m in the year-earlier period – a 5.8 per cent increase. For Danica Pension as a whole, total premiums grew 8.3 per cent from DKK 8,543m to DKK 9,248m in the first quarter.

“We are happy to note that the premium growth we saw in 2020 has continued in 2021 with good, profitable growth. It is essential to us that our growth is profitable, as it means that our business is sound and that we can provide financial security for our customers. We hold a strong position in a highly competitive market, winning agreements by offering good, proactive advisory services, competitive long-term net returns and strong healthcare solutions,” Krogh Petersen added.

As well as publishing its financial results, Danica Pension revealed its 2025 targets for carbon emissions related to investments. It intends to be carbon neutral by 2050, and has now introduced a number of ambitious objectives for the carbon footprint of its investments by 2025.

The 2025 objective is focused on the key sectors of energy, utilities, transport, steel and cement, and its goal is to cut carbon emissions in these sectors by 15-35 per cent relative to the 2019 level.

“It is good to set long-term ambitions, but it is even more important to take timely action. We want to contribute to the green transition, and if we are to contribute to solving the climate change challenge, we believe that it is also necessary to support the transition in the sectors that are key to driving the change,” Krogh Petersen said.

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