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Mapfre Sa Reg Shs
10/31/2025
Good morning and welcome to MOPFRI's activity update for the third quarter of 2025. This is Leandra Clark, Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets. Thank you for joining us today. We are pleased to have here with us José Manuel Enchausti, Vice President of MOPFRE, who will provide some opening remarks and an overview of recent business trends. Following that, José Luis Jiménez, our Group CFO, will discuss the main financials, and Felipe Navarro, Deputy General Manager of the Finance Area, will walk us through the balance sheet. As a reminder, we report IFRS financial information on a half year basis. The information in this activity update is prepared under the accounting policies applicable in each country, which generally do not apply IFRS 17 and nine. You can use the ask a question link at any point during the call, and we will open up the Q&A session at the end of the presentation. I will now hand the floor over to Jose Manuel Enchausti.
Thank you, Leandra. Hello, everyone, and thank you for your time today. Let me share some highlights of the quarter before José Luis and Felipe walk you through the details. Results have been excellent with higher profitability in all regions and in our main business units. We are outperforming almost all updated targets announced at the AGM. However, If we look at the macroeconomic context, the world economy is continuing to slow down with fiscal tensions, trade wars and higher geopolitical risk. This is creating exchange rate volatility that is affecting our top line, especially the US dollar and Latin American currencies. Premiums have grown 3.5%, reaching over 22 billion. And at constant exchange rates, this would more than double, reaching nearly 8%. Non-life, which is more than 75% of our business, continues to benefit from improved technical management. Premiums in this segment are growing over 6% at constant exchange rates, almost 2% in euros, reaching over 17 billion. The live business is up around 10% in euros, nearly 40% at constant exchange rates, reaching over 5 billion. The non-life combined ratio is now 92.6, down more than two points, with a strong reduction in the claims ratio to 65%, and an excellent expense ratio at 27.5%. The net result is up nearly 27%, reaching 829 million euros, with a return on equity of 12.4%. These results include extraordinary impacts of 79 million euros from the partial goodwill write-down in Mexico and the derecognition of tax credits in Italy and Germany. This is the result of an ongoing review of our balance sheet with a prudent approach to valuation. The adjustments have had no impact on our cash flow positions nor our capacity to pay dividends. Without these one-offs, the result would stand at an excellent 908 million and the return on equity over 13%. Our capital base remains strong despite market volatility. with shareholders' equity up 5% during the year, reaching 8.9 billion euros, and the solvency ratio close to 209% at the end of June, in line with our target range. These robust results have allowed us to increase the interim dividend to 7 cents per share, up nearly 8% compared to last year. Core businesses are performing extremely well, supported by the progress in the implementation of our strategic plan. Overall, Iberia has an excellent contribution to results, with almost 350 million euros, up over 22%, thanks to its diversified business mix, with the motor result up more than 80 million, consolidating its recovery. There were also strong contributions from general property and casualty and accident and health. We continue to see the positive effects of our technical management with the motor combined ratio improving by 6 points to 98.5% and accident and health improving 4.5 points to 95%. In LATAM, performance has been outstanding, with a combined ratio of 83% and almost all countries below 100%. The largest challenge we are facing in the region right now is currency volatility. We have been operating in this market for many years and are confident that our diversified business model will continue to prove resilient. While currencies are affecting the top line, results are strong across the region. Brazil has had an excellent quarter with a net result of almost 200 million, up 6% with very strong margins. In addition, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia together contribute over 100 million to the results. But both the non-life and life businesses remain highly profitable with improvements in the combined ratio across most clients. And financial income continues to be an important tailwind. The region reported a total result of 340 million, up 11%. North America is delivering an excellent result of nearly 100 million euros, up 40%. Technical measures continue to pay off with relevant improvements in motor and general property and casualty. Finally, in MAFRE RE, prudent underwriting, diversification and adequate retrocession are delivering solid results. We continued increasing prudence during the quarter. with reserves still in the upper end of our confidence interval. Hurricane season has been very quiet. However, we prefer to maintain a conservative approach. Performance was outstanding, with a net result of 256 million and a combined ratio under 94%. In conclusion, we are extremely satisfied with this year's results. The Board of Directors approved an interim dividend of 7 cents, an almost 8% increase to be paid on November 28th. It was the fourth consecutive increase, bringing total dividends paid in 2025 to 16.5 cents, 508 million fully in cash. This is the highest dividend ever paid in a year. During the last five years, MAFRE has paid out 2.3 billion euros to shareholders. The average dividend yield for this year is over 5% and more than 7% for the last five years. I will now hand the floor over to José Luis to walk us through the details of the quarter.
Good morning to everyone. I will now discuss the GIT transfer region, complementing the figures already provided by José Manuel. In Iberia, total premiums are growing over 9% with solid growth in most lines of business. Non-life is up nearly 5% and life premiums are up 20%. The combined ratio has improved two and a half points to 95.9%. And the investment portfolio continued to boost profit. The return on equity is now up almost two points to 13. Profitability in LATAM has been excellent. Brazil continues to see excellent results, posting a return on equity of over 27%, with improved technical ratios and high investment returns. The non-life compound ratio is around 72%. In local currency, business volumes were down slightly, with the Lincoln segment still affected by high interest rates and the macro and geopolitical contest. Premiums in euros are down 11.5%, with a 9-point exchange rate impact. Odela TAM continues to deliver strong profitability, contributing over €140 million, up 19%, with technical improvements across all lines, leading to a three-point reduction in the combined ratio to 96%. Premiums have been very affected by chain rates, with strong local currency growth in key markets like Mexico, Colombia and Peru. In North America, premiums are down 4% in euros, with a three-point drag from the US dollar. The combined ratio is well under 96%, improving around three points. In EMEA, losses in Germany and Italy are going down significantly. The region is reporting its second consecutive quarter of positive numbers, with a 7 million profit, compared to almost 19 million in losses last year, with a 6.5 point reduction in the combined ratio. Regarding mastery, José Manuel has already commented on the reserving strategy and the bottom line. In terms of growth, premiums are growing around 1%. The US dollar is relevant for this business, and premiums will be up over 6% at cost and exchange rates. Additionally, reserve for informants has been around 165 million year-to-date, with a five-point impact on the combined ratio, which means the ratio will have been below 90% without this one-off. MAUDI continues to contribute positively with a net result of 3 million. Lastly, I would like to address a few specific items. First, hyperinflation adjustment has improved from around 47 million last year to 24 million this year, mainly due to Argentina and Turkey. And second, the impact of 79 million were recorded in the holding expense line, of which 38 million correspond to the partial goodwill write-down in Mexico, and the rest to the recognition of deferred taxes in Italy and Germany, with 31 and 9 million respectively. As a reminder, in September 2024, there was the partial goodwill write-down in Berlin, Germany for 90 million, as well as extraordinary income of 35 million from various tax adjustments. General P&C lines continue benefiting from technical discipline, strong market positions, and diversification. Premiums are slightly down, affected by currencies. The combined ratio remains excellent, below 81%. In Iberia, premiums increased by 7%, with improvements in key segments, especially commercial lines. The combined ratio stands at an excellent 94%, thanks to diversification and a prudent underwriting approach, as well as comprehensive free insurance protection. In Brazil, premiums declined 10% in euros, while the drop in local currency was just 1%. Agroinsurance is still affected by high interest rates, as well as the geopolitical and macroeconomic situation, while other retail and industrial lands are experiencing notable growth. The combined ratio has improved to 63%, supported by agro, which remains in the low 50s with a lack of relevant events, as well as a strong performance in other retail lines. North America, premiums are impacted by the dollar depreciation, while the combined ratio has improved to points to 83% during a traditionally quiet quarter weather-wise. Regarding MOTO, the third quarter confirms previous trends, with significant advance in most markets. The combined ratio is now below 100%, with around a 5-point improvement year-on-year. The net result is almost 96 million compared to 17 million in losses last year. In Iberia, the combined ratio has improved over six points, reaching 98.5%. And we expect to see further improvements. Premiums are growing 3% and reflect average premium growth of over 7%, almost a point higher than the market. The result has grown by over 80 million, reaching 52 million compared to losses last year. In Brazil, premiums are down mainly due to the currency depreciation. The combined ratio remains stable in line with higher interest rates. Performance has been outstanding in North America with a 52 million euro profit, almost double compared to last year, with the combined ratio down more than three points. Regarding other regions, in other LATAM, almost all units are now reporting combined ratios below 100%. In EMEA, the combined ratio is also down eight points from around 120 to 112%. In conclusion, technical management remains solid and the measures implemented continue paying off. Regarding the live business, premiums are up almost 10% with strong trends in Iberia and other Latin, especially Mexico. Furthermore, the live business is very profitable, adding 180 million to the result. In Iberia, total premiums are growing 20% due to strong performance in savings products. Excluding special transactions, growth in Iberia will be around 17%. This very strong underlying performance is supported by our extraordinary distribution capacity, adapting to the individual needs of our clients. The protection business is growing in line with previous trends. The net result was 92 million down year on year. About half of the decrease is explained by lower financial gains. In Brazil, premiums are 14% lower, impacted by the currency, as well the high interest rate environment, which affect lending and related life protection product demand. Profitability remains strong, with a combined ratio of 82%, down two points year-on-year. Regarding the rest of the countries, volumes were up almost 16%, led by all the LATAM, in particular Mexico. Performance in both Mexico and Malta has been noteworthy, growing more than 40% and 10% respectively. Now, I will hand over to Felipe to discuss the main balance sheet items.
Thank you, José Luis. Shareholders' equity stands strong at over 8.9 billion, up 5% during the year, on the back of the excellent result we are reporting. The improved valuation of the available for sale portfolio offsets the negative currency conversion differences, mainly from the US dollar, which is down 12% year-to-date. Leverage is at 21%, reflecting our disciplined approach to capital and debt management. Regarding our capital structure, we don't expect any major changes in the near future. The upcoming maturity of our senior bond in May 2026 will most likely be refinanced by senior debt. We hope to go to market sometime early 2026. Total assets under management stand at more than 63 billion. Third-party assets, which are now over 15 billion, are up more than 14%, with outstanding performance in Brazil. We maintain our position as one of the leading non-bank players in the asset management business. Our own investment portfolio amounts to 47.5 billion, with asset allocation stable. We remain convinced that our portfolio's defensive nature, focus on quality and diversification, and high liquidity is well prepared to face market volatility. On the top left, you can see our main fixed income portfolios. Regarding the euro area, duration is down year to date, but relatively stable on the quarter and portfolio yields overall are slightly higher. In other markets, portfolio yields in Brazil substantially increased, nearly 240 basis points year-to-date, reaching 12.7%. In other Latam, yields are stable, while they are moving up in North America. On the bottom left, you can see non-life and financial income is up around 9%. Or the LATAM continues to be affected by Argentina, where investment returns are lower than prior years, which is offsetting the hyperinflation adjustments, which are also lower. On the right, you can see net financial gains at around 29 million. Iberia remains the largest contributor, the majority coming from non-life. Now, I will hand the floor over to José Manuel to make a few closing remarks.
Before moving on to the Q&A, I would like to reiterate that we continue consolidating significant improvements across all region and business lines, especially in the motor business. This is thanks to one of our strongest assets, our high level of diversification, both by geography and by product, which not only mitigates risks, but allow us to leverage opportunities. We continue executing our strategic initiatives with focus on profitable growth and continuous technical improvements as we move forward in our internal transformation. Financial income is still a relevant tailwind and our balance sheet remains resilient. Despite the geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, we have a very positive outlook. We are prepared to face the headwinds from currency depreciation, inflation and economic slowdown. And we are confident in the direction we are heading in. The increased interim dividend we announced this morning is proof of that. In conclusion, these solid results are proof of the strength of MAFRE's business model, our ability to adapt in a constantly changing environment, and our ongoing commitment to profitability, solvency, and a client focus. These achievements allow us to be optimistic about the coming years, continue with the prudent approach that define us. I will now hand the floor over to Leandra to begin the Q&A.
Thank you, Jose Manuel. Although most of you are already familiar with the process, as a reminder, you can use the Q&A tool on the bottom of your screen. We will organize the questions by topic and answer them as time allows. And now let's start with the first question. We've received several questions surrounding the reinsurance business. Juan Pablo Lopez from Banco Santander would like to ask if there's been any impact from the recent hurricanes in the Caribbean.
Okay, good morning, and thanks for your question, Juan Pablo. To be honest to you, I mean, the impact so far is negligible. And we have to say that Malfurri has no exposure to Cuba and Jamaica. And in the case of Global, it's a minimum exposure that probably wouldn't affect the result.
We've also received several questions regarding the reserve strengthening at Mapfuri during the quarter. Max Misham would like to know what was behind these reserves and Alessia would like us to quantify the impact both at nine months and on the third quarter standalone and what businesses they affected, if they affected any particular line of business.
I would say that probably following our proven approach to reserving, I mean, we have reserve reinforcements has been around 165 million euros a year today, which means more or less a five-point impact on the combined ratio. Otherwise, it would have been below 90% without this one-off. In terms of the quota, last quarter, we did a reserve around 60 million euros.
Thank you. Paz Ojeda also would like to know if we've finished with this reserve strengthening or will this continue in the coming quarters?
Probably, I think it's too soon to say. I mean, we are just in the middle of the hurricane season. Apart, we have all the kind of nutcat events that could happen at any time around the world. So I would say that until the 1st of January is quite difficult to comment. But of course, I mean, we are prudent by nature. And if we think that there is secondary periods increase, you know, whatever could happen, we are more on the prudent side.
Thank you, José Luis. Max also had a question regarding our outlook for the fourth quarter. As we've seen that the hurricane season remains mild. If that continues into the fourth quarter, what could we expect for an underlying combined ratio?
Once again, I would say it's too difficult to say. Hopefully, the quota could end as it has started. But, you know, during the last few weeks, we had Melissa and everything was a little bit concerned. Finally, it's not a big issue. But, you know, still we have to deal with the end of October and November.
Thank you. Moving on to another topic, still in Montferri, Juan Pablo from Banco Santander asked about the loss ratio, which he said was very low in the quarter. Was there any release or extraordinary impact? And he also asked for the expense ratio, which has increased quarter on quarter, and is wondering if there's been any other extraordinary impacts in either of these lines.
Well, as we have mentioned before, there is no release at all. It's the day we ran. We have reserved reinforcements, as we have pointed out. Maybe the good figures come from low net cut events during the quarter. And regarding the expenses, it's just the profit sharing adjustment that we have in some policies that explains the difference.
Thank you. We have one last question from Max Misham regarding the reinsurance business. In particular, he's asking about the profitability of the life business. I believe there may have been some volatility on the quarter, although this is a business that tends to have high volatility.
There is as well. I mean, the reserves as well in the live business have been reinforced during the year. And we can mention that the live business, which is an area that we want to grow in the future, is being observed and developed in a very prudent way. So this is what we may expect on the year. I mean, we are looking at this business very closely. And I think that year on year it evolves quite swiftly.
Great, thank you. We're going to move on to the next block of questions. Moving on to Iberia. Juan Pablo from Banco Santander has some questions regarding the motor gross written premiums that are growing 3% versus the sector, which is growing around 9%, and that we've seen some loss of policy holders during the quarter. How do you see the competitive environment? Are you expecting an inflection point in terms of market share in the short term?
Okay, the first thing is that MAFRE Iberia has dropped six points. It's combined ratio in motor insurance, which was the main objective, and now it's in a good 98.5%. That was the first objective, and we were very focused on on profitability. And in spite of that, the growth is 3%. It's true that it's less than the market, but it is still a positive growth of 3%. In the next quarters, once we have improved I would say radically the combined ratio, we will be a little bit more focused on growth, not only in premiums, but in insured units. Regarding the market, what we could say is that the market has entered in a very soft market in in the motor insurance in Spain, but we will be more dependent on our technical results than these movements in the market.
Thank you. We've also received some questions that affect more the general PNC line. The first one is from Paz Ojeda, Bank Sabadell. She mentions that it's been a quite benign year in general from a weather event point of view, and that it seems... or should like to know what part of the improvement in the combined ratio in general PNC is due to this very benign weather environment?
I mean, there's definitely some kind of impact of this benign weather. I mean, this is something that we are experiencing lately. It is true that general PNC has as well other exposures that are affecting the situation. And once again, we want to mention that there is a very prudent approach on the reserving of this line of business. So even though this prudent approach that we are taking, we are still posting excellent combined ratios and we should continue if nothing happens otherwise.
Thank you, Felipe. Moving on also into General PNC, Max Misham from JB Capital would like to know what has been the impact of the wildfires in Spain on your claims during the quarter?
I will say that despite the tragedy of these wildfires, we all have in mind those images, you know, about the countryside, small village and the fire and so on. We have to say that many of these properties were not insured and probably the impact will be negligible on the camps.
Great. Thank you. Moving back to motor, we've received several questions, which I'm actually going to summarize, I think, from a few analysts. I think in general, the question is, number one, what can we expect for the combined ratio in motor in the coming quarters? And number two, how do we feel about this slowdown in premium growth? And do we think this can also improve in the coming quarters?
What I would say is that the combined ratio in Maffray's motor insurance is 99.6%, which is a good improvement over five points over the last year, and it will continue improving in the next quarters. Growth has been 2.3%, affected by exchange rates, and it should be better in the next quarter as well.
Thank you. And Max Misham has a follow-up question on that, and he'd like to know what type of tariff increases are you implementing in motor, and when do you expect to normalize churn and start growing the client portfolio?
Well, in this case, I mean, as we have said in different presentations, the premium, I mean, the increase in target is more related to inflation, to cover the costs, slightly above inflation. But it's true that during the last quarters, I mean, year to day, we prefer to come back to profit and to resolve the crisis on the active market. Right now, I think we are in a very good position to try to put the focus on growing in terms of customers, and that's where we are focused for the coming quarters.
Thank you. We're moving on to the Iberia Life business. Barclays, Alessia Barclays commented that life gross written premiums came down by 17% in the third quarter. Can you please give us some details of the drivers of why the business volumes in life came down between the third and the second quarter?
Linear growth in life savings is not regular. We cannot get the same amount every quarter. So it is true that during the first and the second quarter we have a real extraordinary growth. Probably the third quarter has been more flat. But as well, we have plans. You all know we try to become a leader on financial planning in the Spanish market. We have more than 3,000 branches, more than 10,000 people specialised in life and savings. And we are really focused on continuing to grow in the coming quarters.
Thank you. We have two more questions, or one more, I believe, for Iberia. Juan Pablo from Banco Santander, he asks why financial income was down and would like to know if we can expect a stabilization at the current levels.
At the group level, I mean, financial income has grown around 9% in final run with the figure. In the case of Iberia, it is true that we have to come back to last year, because last year we sold a real estate property and we did an important capital gain. But we have to say that we expect a stabilisation, or even maybe, why not, increasing a bit the financial income. I think that the book yield is something that probably will continue growing slightly. And it is true as well that this year we have less capital gains compared to last year, despite the incredible performance on the financial markets. But we have no concern about that. And probably we believe it could be a tailwind in the coming quarters.
Thank you. We have one additional question. In Iberia, General PNC, the combined ratio performed very well, down again during this quarter. And Juan Pablo from Banco Santander would like to know, has there been anything extraordinary or a release of provisions?
As I said before, I mean, General PNC is performing extremely well. There was no release during the quarter. There was, in fact, it was on otherwise. I mean, we were preparing for having a very benign quarter to have some reinforcement of reserves in this line of business as well. So things are performing well and this is nothing extraordinary that we should mention.
Thank you. Well, we've finished with Iberia, unless there's any follow-up questions. We're moving on to Brazil. Our first question is from Juan Pablo at Banco Santander, and he's asking about growth. He comments that we're seeing a fall in gross written premiums. What is our outlook for this business, and what is the impact from this struggling agribusiness in Brazil?
Well, in the case of Brazil, we have to say, I would say several things. The first one is that the business is performing extremely well and results are growing another quarter. It is true that we have an important headwind there, which is the high interest rates. The SELIC right now is around 50%. And where you are selling insurance product linking to credit, it's quite difficult to grow in such market conditions. I would say the good news is that probably next year we have elections in Brazil. Inflation is coming down very close to the target of the central bank. We believe it could be reasonable to think that probably interest rates could come down in Brazil significantly. In the short term, we have the advantage, we have the pros of high interest rates for our investment portfolio. In fact, the book yield of the investment portfolio has increased almost three percentage points, which is not bad. But on the other hand, it's suffering a bit in terms of premium growth. Next year, we could see a reverse on this function. So probably we have lower interest rates. We expect to see more premiums coming for the business. So we are optimistic about the future of the business in Brazil.
Thank you. Following up on the agro business, I would say the combined ratio in general, non-life, which is very much supported by agro, Juan Pablo from Santander asks, your combined ratio increased quarter and quarter after a very strong second quarter. In the past, you mentioned you expected a lower structural combined ratio in Brazil. Could you update us on this structural level around mid-70s combined ratio?
I think 70s is a wonderful combined ratio. And I would like to see that ratio in many other business. And it doesn't matter if from one quarter to another, it move slightly up. I mean, if I remember properly, second quarter was around 68, right now it's 71. I would be more than happy to see 71 for the coming future. But this is an extraordinary business for us. I think we think we have a quite competitive advantage in the marketplace. And it doesn't matter if the combined ratio move around the 70s or down. So we are very happy with that.
Thank you. Regarding the life business in Brazil, Is there any – there's been a fall year on year in the premiums. Is there any reason different to Forex? And how do you see the trend of the life protection business going forward?
I mean, as Jose Luis has mentioned already, I mean, this is very much related with interest rates. SELIC at 15% is a deterrent on the increasing of the credit in the market. We should expect that if, as José Luis mentioned, we are going to have lower CEDIC during the next year, there will be an increase of lending in Brazil that will help us to increase the level of premiums on the market. I mean, there is as well the FX that has been affecting us. But I mean, I think that all in all, I think that there is a solid position on the life protection business that will continue during the next year.
Moving on to the rest of Latin America, on a similar note, life business is actually doing quite well and growing year on year, but the P&C business seems to be a little weaker. Is there any other reason, again, different from foreign exchange? What are the trends you're seeing in non-life in the rest of Latin America outside of Brazil?
As we have pointed out before, I mean, high interest rates is really a driver of this in the sense it's quite difficult to sell insurance linked to credit. And it's the same trend in Mexico. It could be in Colombia and Peru. As we have a more positive view regarding interest rates in the future, we have seen this week as the Fed has reduced by 25 basic points and probably this could continue in the coming months. So this could help as well that Latin American central banks could reduce as well rates. So this is a very good trend for the business. Apart from that, I mean, we have the FX effort, but once again, we tend to believe this has stabilized so far. And in the last, I would say, two months, we have seen how some Latin American currencies have strength rather than deteriorate compared to previous quarters. And so far, year to date, we see a slight appreciation on the real, a slight appreciation on the Mexican peso. So, I don't know, I think probably this mean reversion probably could affect us positively from now till next year.
Thank you. We're going to move on to North America. We've received so far one question. Juan Pablo from Santander would like to know why is the combined ratio so low in PNC? Were there any release provisions or was it weather related?
No, I mean, not release provision at all. It's just probably this part of the year is probably the best in the U.S. in terms of weather-related events, but also all the hard work that our colleagues have done there in terms of efficiency, in terms of rational effectiveness and so on. But the weather has helped a bit, but we continue with the good trends of previous quarters.
Thank you. We're going to move on to a few questions we received regarding the balance sheet strengthening that took place with some extraordinary impacts this quarter. We received a question from Antoine at Alpha Value. He would like us to give some background information regarding the goodwill write-down in Mexico. How is this business performing? And what would have been the combined ratio in LATAM excluding Mexico?
I don't have the figure about LATAM in Mexico. We can send the answer to you after, but it's going to be very detailed. Regarding the write-down in Mexico, I think that we need to be aware on what kind of transaction we were looking for in this area. We wanted to increase the network that we had in order to distribute better and reaching more the client in the live business. In this case, I think that the acquisition of a network of more than 4,000 agents and related distributors of live business is an extremely good uh acquisition the thing is that the business that wasn't on on back of it this was is there was something that we need to revise review and to challenge in order to provide with uh with uh with the sound information on this on this business this is the reason about this uh about this uh uh partial uh write down that we did in in the goodwill in in mexico that is part of it that has been preserved because we continue thinking that the business should be profitable. There will be a lot of cross-selling that is not included in this goodwill that is going to be captured from Mexico. And once again, this is part of the very prudent approach that we have from the balance sheet. And this is going to be the same approach that we have on the reinforcement of reserves and looking at a very strong balance sheet for the future of MAFRE.
And just to follow up, we're looking at the combined ratios for the region, and Mexico's combined ratio is very much in line with the total of other LATAMs, so there's no large difference in the profitability across the region versus Mexico. Thank you. We've received another question coming from and she'd like to know what risks do we have remaining for additional write downs and intangibles including goodwill, deferred tax assets, or value of business acquired across the different subsidiaries that the group has.
I think that we look always with a very conservative eye at all those intangible assets that we have. When we are looking at them, we have a very strong and... and a very strict approach on how we analyze it. It is true that the good wills that we have in the market are right now associated mainly to very strong operations and I think that is something that has been seen in the past. They're related with very strong businesses, but we are going to continue looking at the opportunity of approaching these with the most prudent way in a manner that things are going to be on the reinforcement of the balance sheet. There is nothing in the short term that let us know, that let us think that we should continue with this, with any kind of right hand. But I mean, in any case, we are going to continue looking at each and every line of the balance sheet in order to take the most prudent approach that has been taken in the last years.
Thank you, Felipe. Moving on, we have a question surrounding the dividend. Juan Pablo from Santander asks, we've seen your solvency ratio improved to 209% compared to 206% last quarter. This is the figure we have at the end of June. This is quite comfortable above the midpoint of your target range of 200% with a 25-point leeway. Could we expect any increase of dividend payment? Payout, excuse me, of dividend payout?
What I have to say just, and then I will let José Luis speak about the solvency ratio. Any decision about dividend payout is taken by the board and then must be approved by the AGM. So that will be the procedure.
Well, regarding the solvency ratio, I mean, we are really happy with the level that we have achieved, 209, which is in line with the margin that has been set up by the AGM, by the Board of Directors. And nothing to comment. I mean, probably if the trends continue, we could keep within that range on the high end. And probably we are looking forward to continue with such strong balance sheet.
Thank you, José Luis. We're going to move on. We have two more questions. The next one is regarding M&A, coming again from Banco Sabtader. Just like an update on what are our M&A plans and our strategy going forward.
There's no change in the strategy. We already mentioned that we have capacity to display more capital, but I think that we are not in a hurry right now. We are looking at any opportunity. There is nothing on the desk that we should look for a very immediate closing or in the next months. The opportunities that we are looking at or that we are... looking with a very close attention, are related, of course, with Spain, that we want to increase our distribution power on the country, mainly for trying to rebuild the bank assurance agreements that we had in the past and try to distribute better on the light business. We should be keen on displaying more capital in the Euro area and we need to bear in mind that the only country mainly that we could do it would be Germany. Italy could be an opportunity, but I mean it's mainly Germany on this side. If we look at LATAM, I think that there are two economies that are the focus of our M&A strategy. First, Brazil, and we are looking for any opportunity that could help us to increase our importance there. It is important to mention that we don't want to jeopardize in any case our very good agreement with Banco do Brasil, so we will be very careful in this area. And of course Mexico, which is a country that is in the long term very linked to the US economy and is the second biggest economy in Latam. Looking at the US, I mean, we could think about some company that will present some business that will make a complement to the one that we are distributing already in Massachusetts, which is mainly homeowners and motor. and try to look for an opportunity in a single state company that could help us to try to put a foot on another state that could help us to start developing mainly this new line of business in the area that we are already present, or the motor and home. that we are already doing very well in in massachusetts in this season this other state i mean those are those are the main uh points that we want to uh we want to increase i mean the areas where we want to uh we want to deploy more capital will be i mean on top of of of course motor agreements distribution agreements life life business which is one of our of our uh of our priorities. I mean, I think that there is nothing that changed from the past. So the same kind of strategy and nothing on the short term for the moment.
Thank you, Felipe. And moving on to our final question, Juan Pablo from Banco Santander has commented that our latest guidance in terms of ROE and combined ratio looks a little out of date. And do we plan to update these targets anytime soon?
As I said before, our current guidance was adopted in coherence with the strategic plan that ends in the next year. Fortunately, things seem to be better than expected, but we have to bear in mind that we are not in the end of the year, we are just in the third quarter on one side, and on the other side, any change in any guidance of the company must be adopted by the board previously.
Thank you. So we have no further questions. We did receive some through the platform that we think would be better answered after the call due to a very technical nature. We'll reach out to you between now and Monday. And just as a reminder, all the documents are available at our website. And now I'm going to hand the floor back to Jose Manuel for some closing remarks and after to Jose Luis Jimenez.
Yeah, if I made some closing remarks, I would say that we are very satisfied with the company figures that we have presented. There are excellent results and the results are the consequence of three, four very hard years of work, especially to decrease the combined ratio and to grow up the the AROE combined ratio is improving 2.2 points over the last year. That has been compatible with a very prudent approach, which has led us to make some stronger provisions in some units, especially in reinsurance units, to make the write-offs and the recognition of fiscal assets that we have present to the market. So overall, every country, almost every country, almost every business line is improving its technical results. So we feel, the whole team feels very rewarded for the work that has been done in the last year. Growth is 80% in a constant exchange ratio and having this improvement on the balance and on the results, we will be focusing in profitable growth over the next quarter, not only in premiums, this is something that we already have, but in insured units and in terms of customers. Another thing is that MAFRE is having a very good year and we have good expectations for the end of the year, if nothing extraordinary. happens just to remind that the dividends will surpass for the first time in our history 500 million euros which is a very remarkable remarkable figures and just to put an end talk just second on the on the prudent deployment of ai and digitalization that that is is going is going on in the company, the company is improving a lot, and I say with a prudent and humanistic approach to the AI, we are expanding it over the company. And the last part is to talk about system plans, very important system plans that are going on in Spain, Latin America, and USA, and so far they are giving results and they are on track as well. That is my final conclusion and thank you very much for the attention and the questions.
Thank you.
Jose Maria has said it all. We have had a wonderful quarter and we are looking forward to end a really good year for MAFRE. Thank you so much for your analysis, for your questions and if you have any further questions that we are able to give you a proper answer, we are at your disposal in the coming hours or days. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.