Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1083753
BUSINESS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 20 FEBRUARY 2019 12 MAPFRE registers net earnings of €529 million in 2018 IN 2018, MAPFRE generated an operating result of €702 million, 0.3% over the previ- ous year. It is important to note that at the end of last year, the company strength- ened its balance sheet by al- locating €173 million to a par- tial impairment of goodwill for operations in the United States, Italy and Indonesia. After allowing for this allo- cation, net earnings for the year were €529 million, 24.5% lower than that recorded in 2017. The fall in financial income is mainly due to low inter- est rates, depreciation of cur- rencies, and the cost of cata- strophic events, which had an impact of €97 million on the reinsurance business. The total Group revenues were €26.6 billion, a fall of 5% due to currency depreciation in the main countries in which MAPFRE operates, namely the US, Brazil, Mexico and Tur- key. Premiums stood at just over €22.54 billion (-4%), also influenced by the effect of cur- rency depreciation. The im- pact of currency depreciation accounted for €1.44 billion. Premiums for the EURASIA Regional Area (which groups together operations in Europe –except Spain and Portugal, the Middle East, Africa and Asia) ended the year at €1.77 billion (-5.6% ). Malta con- tributed €390 million, repre- senting the highest growth in this region, with an increase of 11%. In Malta, MAPFRE is represented by MAPFRE Mid- dlesea and MAPFRE MSV Life. Turkey produced €486 million (-25.7%), heavily influenced by the depreciation of the Turk- ish lira. Italy increased busi- ness by 0.6% to €474 million while in Germany, growth was 5.3%, up to €327 million. At the end of 2018, the Group's combined ratio stood at 97.6%, half a percentage point better than 2017. Equi- ty stood at €9.2 billion, while shareholders' equity amount- ed to just under €8 billion, with total assets at €67.29 bil- lion. The Group's investments reached €49.27 billion at the end of 2018, with 56% cor- responding to sovereign debt and 18.1% to corporate fixed income. The rest was invested in equities, cash and real es- tate. At the end of September 2018, the Solvency II ratio stood at 207.9%, compared with 201.7% in June, with 88% high-quality capital. It is important to note that the solvency ratio remains both robust and stable, thanks to a high level of diversification and stringent investment and management policies. The Reinsurance Unit regis- tered premiums of €3.79 bil- lion for 2018, 10.3% less than the previous years, mostly because most of this unit's business comes from non-Eu- ropean countries, which expe- rience sharp currency depre- ciations. MAPFRE also continues to make progress in its commit- ment to diversity and equal- ity policies, with 40.8% of management job positions throughout the Group held by women. In addition, 2.5% of the workforce comprises peo- ple with a disability, exceeding the objective set. World leaders in Artifi cial Intelligence heading to Malta summit THIS Friday, the AI in Business Malta Expo will be launched with the AI in Business Malta Summit, a one-day seminar and networking event taking place in the Petite Suite of the MFCC in Attard. The much- anticipated event will feature three world-class speakers, who will provide a practical over- view of AI technology and the ways it is already changing the world and businesses. Leading the panel will be Matthew Fenech, an AI Policy Consultant who has advised the UK and Welsh Parlia- ments, as well as global or- ganisations like Shell, Ricoh, HSBC, Vodafone and the De- velopment Bank of Japan. Joining him will be the Head of the Centre of Artificial In- telligence and Robotics at the United Nations, Irakli Beridze, who initiated and managed the organisation's first pro- gramme on AI and Robotics in 2014; and Charlotte Stix, a Research Associate and Policy Officer for the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of In- telligence at the University of Cambridge, an advisor on European AI Policy, and a Fel- low of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Coun- cil on Neurotechnologies and Brain Sciences. "Artificial intelligence is eve- rywhere these days," Fenech said. "It has been described by world-leading economists as 'the most important general purpose technology of our era, on a par with electricity.' Stephen Hawking himself said that AI could be 'the best […] thing ever to happen to hu- manity'. "With this Expo, we want to make sure that Malta can bring its great strengths to the AI revolution," he continues. "With its world-class con- nectivity, the Government's forward-thinking policy around new technology such as blockchain, and its highly- skilled ICT workforce, Malta has a fantastic opportunity to position itself as the foremost centre for AI in the Mediter- ranean." The one-day AI in Business Malta Summit will also be the launchpad for September 2019's AI in Business Malta Expo, which will bring to- gether a range of international experts to explore the impact and benefits of this phenom- enon on various fields. These include financial services, manufacturing, logistics, transport, and health – all ad- dressed from the perspective of the local business commu- nity. "Both the Summit in Febru- ary and the Expo in Septem- ber have the same aim, that of giving local businesses a bet- ter understanding of how AI could help them revolutionise the way they work, change the way they interact with their clients, and up their targets," Fenech said. Available spaces for the 22 February AI in Business Mal- ta Summit are limited. To reserve a place, please visit www.aibusinessmalta.com The AI in Business Malta Summit is supported by the Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Busi- nesses. With speakers from the United Nations, the University of Cambridge, and leading-AI policy consultation firms, this February's AI in Business Malta Summit will set the ball rolling for the bigger and more intensive AI in Business Malta Expo set to take place in September Antonio Huertas