4/29/2026

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Good morning and welcome to Mottray's activity update for the first quarter of 2026. This is Leandra Clark, Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets. Thank you very much for joining us. We are pleased to have with us Jose Manuel Enchausti, Vice President of Mottray, who will open the presentation with some remarks and an overview of recent business trends. He will be followed by Jose Luis Jimenez, our Group CFO, who will review the main financial highlights. and Felipe Navarro, Deputy General Manager of the Finance Area, will walk you through the balance sheet as well as the 2025 embedded value figures, which were also released this morning on our website. Before we go into the details, I would like to mention that we have adapted the format of this presentation to reflect your feedback on disclosure. We are aware that many analysts are modeling our business on a regional rather than segment approach. and we have adapted the presentation accordingly. We hope this updated format better meets your needs, and as always, we are open to any further feedback. As a reminder, Mott Prairie reports its IFRS financial information on a half-year basis. The information included in this activity update has been prepared under the accounting policies applicable in each country, which generally do not apply IFRS 17 and 9. Finally, as a reminder, you can submit questions at any point during the call using the Ask a Question link, and we will address them during the Q&A session at the end of the presentation. And with that, I will now hand the floor over to Jose Manuel Enchausti.

speaker
Jose Manuel Enchausti
Vice President of Mottray

Thank you, Leandra. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Let me begin by highlighting the strength of MAFRA results this quarter. with a net profit of 311 million, an excellent performance in most of our core markets. This, once again, demonstrates the capacity of our business model to deliver solid results, even in a complex and demanding market. From a macroeconomic perspective, the current global environment is one of moderate growth. with an orderly slowdown in developed economies and greater resilience in many emerging markets. After a period of gradually normalizing inflation, this trend has reversed in recent weeks. And as you are aware, geopolitical uncertainty remains very high. In addition to this challenging macro and geopolitical backdrop, we are now facing increased competition and pricing pressure in some markets. Our highly diversified business model, both geographically and by business lines, allow us to continue growing in a balanced and sustainable manner. This diversification is once again proving to be a key strength, especially in times of uncertainty. A good example of this is Latin America, a strategic region where MAFRE is the leading multinational insurance group. We believe the region is less exposed to the direct economic consequences of the current geopolitical context. And during the quarter, LATAM as a whole continued to perform positively, providing stability to results. Another relevant factor this quarter has been the evolution of currencies. After several years with a very negative impact, this headwind is starting to moderate. The US dollar is recovering this year and this should feed through into our accounts in the coming quarters. From a technical perspective, results were clearly supported by the motor business. which continues to consolidate the improvements achieved in recent quarters as reflected in the non-life combined ratio. Finally, I would also like to highlight the excellent performance of Manfred Rie. Profit grew once again during the quarter, supported by the absence of significant catastrophic events, while continuing to provide stability and diversification to the group, underpinned by prudent management and strength reserves. Now, I would like to spend a few minutes on the key figures which show that MAFRE is on track to meet the updated targets announced at the AGM in March. Premiums are still seeing an impact from currencies, but to a lesser extent than prior years. is relatively flat at constant exchange rates, confirming that the underlying business is strong and that we will be able to return to growth. As a reminder, the growth target is a three-year average of premium growth of 6%, excluding light savings at constant exchange rates. What's more, our profitability continues improving. The non-life combined ratio stands at an excellent 93.2%, down nearly one point, and at the lower end of the updated target range, 93 to 94%. Performance is consistent with our focus on profitable growth. The net result of 311 million euros is nearly 13% higher than the previous year with the ROE reaching 12.9%, 13.8% excluding extraordinaries, which put us well on track to achieve our 13% ROE target for the last year of the strategic plan. Our solid balance sheet and stable financial position are evident in our solvency ratio, 205% at December, above the midpoint of our target range. I will now hand the floor over to Jose Luis to walk us through the details of the quarter.

speaker
Jose Luis Jimenez
Group CFO

Let me walk you through the main highlights of the profit and loss account. Starting with non-life, premiums continue to be affected by currency movements, particularly the US dollar. Beyond North America, this has also had a relevant impact on mafiori and on some Latin American businesses, where property portfolios are often dollar-denominated. In euros, non-life premiums are down 2.6%, reaching over 6.6 billion, while at cost and exchange rates, they are broadly flat. The non-life technical result increased by 16.6%, supported by prudent technical management and the absence of large catastrophic events. The low ratio is down 1.7 points, driven by better risk selection and effective claims management, which more than offset the slight uptick in the spend ratio. Non-life net financial income increased by around 30 million, supported by high portfolio yields and an increase in realized gains, as we reduced the risk exposure of our portfolios at the beginning of the year. Gross realized gains amounted to 38 million this quarter, almost 19 million more than last year. Starting now to the live business, premiums were broadly stable at 1.8 billion, down 0.6% in euros. Life protection continues to show solid growth, especially in Iberia and Latin America, with a combined ratio below 86%. Growth-realized gains were up around 4 million year-on-year. Regarding all the business activities, which mainly include holding company items, results were affected by a 5 million increase in debt expenses, as well as a size and some timing difference in other holdings' company costs. The higher interest rate, the higher interest expenses is following the early refinancing of 1 billion in January to replace the senior bond maturing in May. Finally, hyperinflation adjustments were relatively stable year on year at 16 million. We continue to deliver strong earning growth driven by improved underwriting performance, disciplined costs and risk control and active investment portfolio management. Now I will spend some time walking through the different regions and business units. Overall, Iberia delivered solid performance during the quarter, driven by technical improvements and a well-diversified business model. Net profit reached almost 138 million, up 14%. Today, premiums remain stable year on year. Life premiums are down, while non-life premium growth is supported by motor and accident and health. The combined ratio improved by 1.5 points, reaching around 94%, and the return on equity is now close to 14%. Motor continues to improve, and earnings have more than doubled year-on-year to 46 million, while the combined ratio has improved almost 6 points to 92.5%. Premiums are up over 2%, supported by a rise in the average premium of around 6%, slightly above the 5% market increase. The vehicle fleet is only slightly down year-to-date, showing clear signs of stabilization. And in addition, we are increasing the number of clients, particularly in health and homeowners. We have also achieved a new milestone reaching 200,000 clients through our agreement with Banco Santander. The accident and health business is also delivering solid performance with a noteworthy combined ratio of 88.7%, an improvement of 1.7 points. This reflects not only favorable claims experience during the quarter, but also the benefit of portfolio pruning. In general TNC, premiums declined by 3.9%, mainly due to extraordinary insurance in the transport line in the first quarter of 2025. The combined ratio increased by just over 4 points to 101%, reflecting the impact of the storms affecting homeowners and condominiums, which were not covered by the consortium in many cases. We expect the impact of the combined ratio to taper off in the coming quarters. Turning to the live business, premiums were down 5%, reflecting lower activity and savings compared to last year, due to the timing of product maturities. Life protection is growing nearly 6%, with an excellent combined ratio of 65%. Regarding financial income, realized gains are in line with the previous year, but with a higher contribution from live compared to non-live. Brazil remains a key driver of profitability. Net profit reached 65 million, up nearly 6%, and the return on equity remains well over 26%, with improved technical ratios and strong investment returns. The non-lab combined ratio is outstanding at 75%. In euros, premiums are down 0.2%, as growth is conditioned by the high interest rates, which are affecting credit-linked insurance products, mainly agro and life protection. The currency is now a tailwind. Other general P&C lines, both in retail and industrial clients, are contributing positively to growth. The combined ratio was stable at 68%, supported by agro, which remains below 60%, very much in line with previous quarters. The auto combined ratio has also improved slightly. Regarding the life business, premiums are down 3% and earnings remain stable year on year, with a protection combined ratio of 84%. In other terms, premiums are growing 4%, driven by life as well as accidental health, which are set lower in swing in the property line, which has many dollar-denominated policies. The Mexican and the Colombian peso appreciation also contributed positively, up 5% and 1% respectively. The combined ratio stands at 96.7%, up 1.5 points, driven by motor and accident health. The life business is growing with strong contributions from Mexico, Peru, and Colombia, with a 16 million net result. In Mexico, premiums are over 16%, with life growing 19%. Accident health is up 38%, supported by BAT. and related tariff increases. The combined ratio is 96.4% with a net result close to 12 million. In Peru, premiums are down 1.7% due to currency depreciation while the net result has improved 24% to 15 million. In Colombia, premiums are up over 4% while the combined ratio is up 5 points, but remains at an excellent level of 89.9%. North America continues to show solid performance and improved technical profitability. Premiums are down just over 10% in euros, mainly due to the US dollar depreciation. The bagel feed is stabilizing, with policy growth is moving faster than expected. The combined ratio continues to improve, down 2.4 points to 95%, with general PNC at an outstanding 89%, despite winter weather impacts. Results are up to over 30 million euros. Buffer REIT includes reinsurance and global REITs, and both are affected by market softening as well as the US dollar. Global REITs premiums are down 13%, affected by the large policy issue last year, and reinsurance is down 6%, 4.5% at cost and exchange rates. The combined ratio improved to 96.8% in the absence of significant claims in the first quarter, with the exception of the storms in southern Europe. Additionally, there was a five-point impact from the serving prudence, remaining in the upper end of our confidence interval. The global risk business also improved its combined ratio to around 89%. The non-life financial result is up 36 million, supported by solid investment yields and the realization of 32 million in gross gains, 26 million more than last year. EMEA is reporting its fourth consecutive quarter of profit, reaching 2 million euros, with a strong turnaround in Germany, now in positive territory. The non-life combined ratio is down two points, driven mainly by Motto. while general P&C was affected by the floods in southern Turkey. Furthermore, in Turkey, the business remained conditioned by hyperinflation adjustments, although in line with the previous years, as well as 20% leader depreciation. Financial income continues to benefit from high interest rates. Finally, MAUDI is contributing positively to the group. With operating revenue growing over 7%, we are also seeing a continuous improvement in profitability. I will now hand the floor over to Felipe to work us through the balance sheet and capital-related topics.

speaker
Felipe Navarro
Deputy General Manager of the Finance Area

Thank you, José Luis. Shareholder's equity remains robust at over 8.9 billion, in line with year-end. Positive currency conversion differences, mainly from the Brazilian real and the U.S. dollar, appreciating 7% and 2% respectively, offset the impact of markets on the performance of the investment portfolio. Leverage stands at 26%, up almost six points. Following a prudent approach, in January, we completed a successful Duan Trans senior transaction at very attractive levels, given the current market conditions. These bonds will replace the senior bond venturing in May. Excluding this, leverage would be at 21.5%. On the top right, we have included the 2025 Embedded Value V figures, which reflect the use of the CSM net of tax under IFRS for the multi-year business. Embedded value is flat at just over 7 billion euros. the value of enforced business is down due to a lower contribution from detection products in Brazil and Iberia, which was offset by the multi-year business in Iberia, Tatam and Inia. The return on embedded value was almost 10%, with a positive contribution from the Spanish savings business, driven by higher premium volumes and margins. The value added from new business is also up with new business margin increasing 30 basis points to 3.6%. The solvency to ratio continues within the target range, over 205% at the close of 2025, according to provisional data. Final data will be disclosed with a group SFCR in May 20, 2026. Total assets under management stand at over 67 billion, growing 4% year-to-date. Our investment portfolio amounts to 46 billion, reaching 50 if we include Unitlink. On the right, we are now presenting the investment portfolio weights, including Unitlink, to better reflect our risk profile. At the beginning of the year, we decided to slightly reduce equity given the high degree of market uncertainty. This was mainly reinvested in European GOVIs, including France and, to a lesser extent, Belgium and Germany, as well as some high-quality credit. We would like to highlight that alternative investments are a small share of our portfolio, around 1.8 billion invested. More than half is invested in prime European real estate, around 900 million. Less than 30% is allocated to corporate private debt, via funds of funds mainly in Europe, focused on senior loans with a defensive position in terms of diversification and duration. Infrastructure and renewable energy are 13% of alternatives, while private equity amounts to 8%. Regarding third-party assets, they are up 6% to over 17 billion. We are the top non-bank asset manager in Spain and remain a benchmark in financial planning. Mutual funds are growing 12% this year. Brazil continues to be the main contributor to this growth, with an increase in assets under management of over 30% during the quarter. We are also seeing solid growth in Spain. I will now comment on our relevant fixed income portfolios, which are mostly actively managed. These amount to around $20 billion. The remaining 15 billion is allocated to cash flow or duration-matched portfolios, focused on minimizing interest-rated risk. Regarding the euro area, overall yields and duration are slightly up. In our other markets, the Brazilian portfolio shows a marginally lower yield of 12.5%, while duration is stable. In North America, yields and duration remain unchanged. As you can see, our portfolios are well positioned to navigate the current volatile environment. I will now hand the floor over to Jose Manuel to make a few closing remarks.

speaker
Jose Manuel Enchausti
Vice President of Mottray

To wrap up, we have had a very solid start to the year. The first quarter results clearly confirmed the strength and resilience of MAFRE's business model. We are seeing improving profitability trends across geographies and products reflecting a gradual recovery while maintaining a robust financial position with high solvency levels and disciplined capital management. At the same time, we continue to operate in a highly uncertain global environment and in a competitive market with signs of softening in certain insurance and reinsurance segments. Our discipline and technical excellence is more important than ever, and we remain firmly committed to profitable growth, sound underwriting and prudent reserving. As proven in the past, MAFRE has successfully navigated complex market cycles, and we are well prepared to do so once again. We are well positioned for a return to growth, maintaining leading positions in Spain. where we are growing in the total number of clients, especially in homeowners and health. We are also proud to say that our recent MPS figures show that we hold leading positions and that our clients appreciate our efficiency, reliability, and proximity with a wide physical network. We will leverage on these strengths. As I already mentioned, we feel Latin America should keep providing stability and is a region that could benefit from the current geopolitical situation. MacFerree should continue to deliver strong results with a diversified product mix, prudent underwriting and solid reserving. Our diversified business model, prudent risk management and disciplined strategic execution are key strengths that allow us to navigate the current cycle from a position of resilience and strength. We are well positioned to meet our targets, reinforcing our strong commitment to shareholders while maintaining discipline in a demanding market. Additionally, currencies are becoming less of a headwind and financial income remain strong. In conclusion, after years of hard work, We are now where we want to be. Performance is excellent, our balance sheet is strong, and we can leverage our leading market positions to return to growth. I will now give the floor to Leandra to begin the Q&A session.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you, José Manuel. As a reminder, you can use the Q&A tool on the bottom of your screen. We will group the questions by topic and answer them as time allows. Now let's start with the first group of questions. We've received some questions regarding the Mott Free Rebusiness. In particular, Juan Pablo from Santander would like to know, you've been increasing the prudence and reserves for several quarters. Should we expect this to continue in the next quarters? Given the already conservative stance in 2025, could you quantify or give us an idea of the level of provisioning of the Montferrari business?

speaker
Jose Luis Jimenez
Group CFO

Okay. Thank you very much, Leandra, and thank you, Paul, for your question. In terms of reserves in Montferrari, it is true that we have probably better than expected quota in terms of weather-related events. And for the reason we did the probation, it's not free, around five points of combined ratio, that in quantifying terms was around 50 million euros. But, you know, we are just at the beginning of the year, probably the most difficult season for us in terms of weather-related events could be the second and the third quarter, so we prefer to be prudent.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you. We've received another question, again, regarding the reinsurance business. Specifically, Max from JB Capital would like to know the impact of the storms in southern Europe on the combined ratio in Montfriery. I can take this question, Max, and we can follow up after the call. But we're looking at a pre-tax impact between 40 and 50 million, which you can calculate later the impact on combined ratio and on the reinsurance business. We've also received another question regarding CAT and weather-related events. Juan Pablo from Santander would like to know what was the impact of these same storms on the combined ratio for the general PNC business in Iberia?

speaker
Jose Luis Jimenez
Group CFO

Well, I think it's quite difficult to make a guess regarding the rules of the year. It is true that January and February were extremely rainy in Spain and in Portugal. Probably we have heard some comments that probably January was the most rainy country in the world in case of Spain. And looking at the statistics, probably we were around 85% above the average of the last 25 years. So this has affected to some extent homeowners and condominiums. But on the other hand, probably we perceived that there were less traffic in the first quarter of the year. And probably it has benefit as well to auto.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you, Jose Luis. Maybe just to add specifically, and as Jose Luis said, that the large majority was in the homeowners and condominiums business. We're estimating a seven to eight impact on the combined ratio for general P&C. The next question is regarding our solvent-safe position, the evolution between September and December. We received questions from Paco Rico at Elantra, as well as Juan Pablo at Santander. They would like to know what is behind this quarter-on-quarter reduction, and what should we expect for 2026?

speaker
Jose Luis Jimenez
Group CFO

Okay, thanks, Sandra. Indeed, the change in the subsidy position is mainly driven by the increase in both equity exposure and the equity risk capital charge. As you know, the capital charge for listed equity is 39%, plus the symmetric adjustment. This adjustment is designed to reflect the fact that when equity markets are trading above the average levels of recent years, the potential impact of a market downtown is higher than when markets have already declined. Since December, equity exposure has increased by 360 million due to the rise in equity markets and the symmetric adjustment has increased from 2.86 to 7.90. This implies that equity capital charge will increase by 4% over the year. In the last quarter, equity exposure increased by 261 million, while the symmetric adjustment increased by 1%. You asked about what our guess in the future. Probably this should gradually reverse, because in the first quarter, and looking at the different situation in the financial markets, We prefer to be more prudent in our investment portfolio, so we slightly reduced in January, in February, as well as in March, our exposure to equity markets. So probably we expect an improvement in the solvency ratio looking forward.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you. We also have a question regarding the asset managed business. And we've seen that assets under management are quite strongly up, quarter on quarter, over 12%. Could you break down the contribution from market performance and net inflows?

speaker
Jose Luis Jimenez
Group CFO

Well, if you look at market performance, I think it's quite difficult to assess because probably January and February were very good months, but we do come to March. And we have the problem in the Middle East, you know, what we saw was high interest rates and lower equity valuations. So probably it's more subscription effort rather than market valuation.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you. On a similar note, we have another question related to the asset management business. Juan Pablo at Banco Santander would like to know if we would consider inorganic growth in this area, particularly in light of recent press reports regarding potential sales in the market.

speaker
Felipe Navarro
Deputy General Manager of the Finance Area

I mean, we don't usually comment any kind of transaction on the M&A until it's done. In any case, this is an area where we showed certain interest in the past. We have a very good agreement with Avante. I think that Jose Luis could comment after how we are developing this kind of business. And we are showing figures that are very encouraging on our own in these last months. This is what I can tell you. I mean, those kind of interests that we have been showing on the M&A side, we've been already exposing in the last quarter. If you want any further confirmation on the areas where we want to expand, I will be glad to give a follow-up call.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you, Felipe. Thank you. We've received several questions today on the topic of growth, in particular regarding one-off or the specific evolution of the general P&C business in Iberia, motor, the reinsurance business, the life business. Maybe we can start with some general comments on growth, and then we can move on to the specific questions.

speaker
Jose Manuel Enchausti
Vice President of Mottray

Yes. Thank you, Leandra, just for going a general statement about growth. It's true that the first quarter has been affected for some factors. The first one is the exchange ratios. which are still a headwind. They have taken out two points of growth from us. The second thing is some important one-off effects in Spain regarding life-saving products that we have extraordinary quarter due to maturities in 2025, what hasn't been the case in the 2026. And then in property casualty in Spain we had a big issuance on the transportation transport branch. Also in global risk we have suffered these effects of different maturity renewal of certain business that has affected the first quarter. And the last effect It's been the market softening that we are seeing, especially the renewals, the mafrey renewals. Having said that, we have a positive outlook on growth for the next quarters based on exchange rates. will be reducing their impacts and we even, we think that by the end of the year, it will be, exchange rates effect will be a tailwind and not a headwind. We will see, we will not have this one-off effects in the next quarters. We will see opposite effects in the incoming quarters. And based on the solid technical work that we have been doing in the last years, we are in an excellent starting point to growth in the coming quarters. There are many initiatives. We are very focused on growth with profitability, always with profitability. And we have a positive outlook on the growth for the next quarters in the company.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you. Maybe we should start with the Spanish motor business. We've received a few questions. I think the first was regarding the evolution of the insured fleet during the year. When do we expect this change in the vehicle fleet to plateau, to stabilize? Yes. And what's our outlook for pricing going forward in Spanish motor? And are we looking to gain market share?

speaker
Jose Luis Jimenez
Group CFO

Well, regarding motor in Spain, I think we have had a really good quarter. As we said at the beginning, probably maybe a little bit affected by the weather, probably less frequency than expected. We have an excellent combined ratio. It's going to be difficult to maintain such levels, but probably it will be, as we have said on the AGM, we aim to get something around 96%, 97%. even lower if possible. So we are working hard on that area. And regarding growth, as Jose Manuel has pointed out, I think we are really looking for growth. But at reasonable prices. I mean, we want to grow, but we don't want to damage. We don't want to affect. the combined ratio. So we would look at the different opportunities. I think in terms of fleet, I think we are more or less stabilized. I think we have reached the point where we feel comfortable. This was the pruning of this part of the business where an area of improvement during the last two years. And I think that we have reached a point that probably run to decline. Probably we will see more increases looking forward. But we are positive in the position that we currently are. And the important thing is we are really prepared for growth.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you. Moving on to the reinsurance business, we had a few questions. The first was from Carlos Peixoto. He would like to know how we're seeing the evolution of tariffs at Matre Verde after the recent renewal period. And also, what's our expectation for pricing throughout the rest of the year? Do you think this will... feed into the gross written premium figures?

speaker
Felipe Navarro
Deputy General Manager of the Finance Area

First of all, I think that the trend is confirmed. I mean, we are looking at the same kind of trends that we are announcing by the end of the year on the renewals of the part of the portfolio. The renewals of April are not the most important for the group. We are speaking of around 15% of the renewals. There was a reduction on the pricing, but we are as well confirming and opening new markets. I mean, these were affecting mainly the Asian markets, and we are now opening an office in India. So that will be contributing to the growth in the future. What we have right now is an environment on the reinsurance business in general that is still compatible with profitability. I think that prices have been adjusted, but they are still in the margins where the companies can make profits, and the proof of it is the excellent results that we are presenting at the first quarter. And that should be following during the year.

speaker
Jose Manuel Enchausti
Vice President of Mottray

Let me add that in spite of the reducing of the average premium because the softening of the market which is a phenomenon for every company and every market and we can do little to avoid that. In spite of that, we have a very positive impression of the renewal process. because we have seen consolidating our relationship with our long-term customers. We have acquired new customers and we are developing the business lines that we wanted to promote in the future in Maffre Reed, like life insurance, So we are happy with the renewal process and we are optimistic about the next renewal processes that will be coming along the year.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you. We've also received a few questions regarding another one of our core business units, Brazil. Both Carlos Peixoto from Caixa BPI, Max from JB Capital and Juan Pablo from Santander. They would like to see the outlook of premiums for this year and in particular if there will be an impact from the diesel and fertilizer shortage on the agricultural business.

speaker
Jose Luis Jimenez
Group CFO

Okay, I think it's a really long question. Let's try to explain the question in several answers. I mean, Brazil is doing pretty well. I mean, results remain strong. supported by sustained technical and operational improvements. I mean, probably is where, is the business unit where we have the highest return on equity. The weaker top line is concentrated in agro and in life rotation, which are closely linked to credit and the interest rate cycle. It is true that this year there has been a reduction around 25 basic points, the final run on the SELIC. But still, I mean, there is more area for improvement in rates. And probably if rates decline, if things normalize a little bit in the Middle East, we are sure that most interest rates in Latin America probably could fall a bit, which could help us as well in terms of premiums. But despite all these challenges, I think that MAFREC has shown strong resilience and execution capability. And I think we look for growth in nominal terms. But also, as we mentioned at the beginning of this position, you know, the currency movements are largely, we suffer a bit after the announcements of the war. I think they are having some kind of mean relation as we have pointed out on previous quarter results. So right now the real is stronger, around 10% compared to December last year. And we have a little bit of tailwind coming from the currency. And we continue with our growth, multi-channel expansion, our operation efficiency. Probably we will see positive growth, not just in nominal, in real, but also in euros significantly.

speaker
Felipe Navarro
Deputy General Manager of the Finance Area

Just for the question of the fertilizers and the cost of diesel on the Brazilian market, I think that you have to remind that maybe this region in the world is less affected by the Strait of Hormuz blockage right now. So what we should expect is, of course, there will be some kind of increase of costs for the fertilizers and the diesel. but they're going to be much milder than the ones that we are going to experience in other regions, mainly in Asia. So all in all, the outlook is more positive than the rest of the world, and any kind of impact is going to be more moderated.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you, Felipe. We have one last, one final question on growth. We touched upon it briefly at the beginning regarding the life business. Specifically, Juan Pablo at San Sander would like to know if the weakness in the quarter reflects stronger competition from the banks. I don't know if we would like to add anything more in our outlook for the competitive environment for the rest of the year.

speaker
Jose Luis Jimenez
Group CFO

To be honest, we don't see an increased competition coming from banks. It is true that some of the players have moved maybe from deposits to life insurance products and so on. But we see that we have an incredible opportunity. You know, we have the aim to become the leader in financial planning in Spain. You know, we have more than 3,000 branches, more than 10,000 people really specialized in investments and savings. And we would like to leverage on such capability. As most of you already know, we have changed a little bit the commercial structure at the beginning of the year. So we think that that plus the new branding, I think is gonna help a lot to develop the business. So we are positive and we will continue growing.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you. Now we're going to move on to a few questions regarding the combined ratio evolution across different geographies. The first one is regarding Brazil. This question is from Carlos Peixoto at Caixa BTI. He would like to know our outlook for 2026.

speaker
Felipe Navarro
Deputy General Manager of the Finance Area

Okay, the outlook continues to be quite stable. I mean, I think that the main concern in the Brazilian market right now is the high interest rate that they're still showing and then the consequences on the growth of premium. The combined ratio in the absence of any dramatic climate event should continue to be quite stable and positive. On the other side, we still think that the combined ratio that we are showing in the motor business is compatible with profitability. Probably if there's a slowdown or a lower interest rate for the end of the year, probably the combined ratio should improve in general in the market in the motor business. So all in all, I think that the trends that we are showing in the combined ratio in Brazil should remain at the similar levels.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you. Regarding the Iberian business, many analysts have highlighted the strong improvement from Q4 last year to Q1 this year. I think the questions are, have there been any one-off extraordinary impacts that we need to keep in mind, and how sustainable is the current level?

speaker
Jose Luis Jimenez
Group CFO

Well, the garden, if there is any specific one-off benefit, probably, I don't know, we could say that the weather probably was worse than expected, more rainy, and less frequency afterwards. But we don't have any other issue that could affect as a one-off benefit. during the quota. It is true that we have achieved this level after two years of hard working, trying to reduce the combined ratio. I think we still try to compete in terms of quality in the marketplace. You know, according to our features, our internal studies, I think that our customers are really happy with the service that they receive. much more than any one of our competitors, and we will continue working on that line. If this is sustainable or not, time will say, but probably The achievement in such a short period of time probably is really high. So probably, as our chairman has said in the AGM, having a combined ratio around 96, probably it is a target that we are working on. If better than level, perfect. But once again, we want to grow, but we don't want to damage the combined ratio.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you. In addition, we've received a few questions regarding our view on the impact of the current softening of the reinsurance market on the combined ratio for this year.

speaker
Felipe Navarro
Deputy General Manager of the Finance Area

No major comments on this. As I think that we said, what we are seeing in the market is that there is a softening. On the other side, we can still say that the attachment points and the conditions that we are showing in the contracts are still on the more conservative side. So we see that these combined ratios could be compatible with profitability. Once again, what we have right now in the combined ratio is that there is a five points impact coming from the reinforcement of reserves, these 50 million euros José Luis already mentioned, and the combination of MAFER-B should be continuing to be quite positive in the absence of big cut events. But, I mean, you know that we already said that the second and third quarter are key for the development of MAFER-B insurance profitability and performance during the year.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you. We've also received a question regarding the NACCAT budget for the year. Just as a reminder, we're usually looking at 10 to 12 points on combined ratio. And the question was whether the quarter, how it compared to this NACCAT budget. We don't provide a NACCAT budget on a quarterly basis, but as we signaled clearly and together with the strengthening, it was a benign quarter from a NACCAT point of view. And we have one final question from regarding financial income. Juan Pablo from Santander has commented that the results were very strong this quarter, both in life and non-life. And were there any one-offs? I think we've touched on the provisioning side, maybe in financial income. we can give a little more color.

speaker
Jose Luis Jimenez
Group CFO

As we described at the beginning of the Q&A session, at the beginning of the year, after an excellent 2025, we thought that probably financial markets were in a point that everything could happen. And then for the reason we decide to reduce a little bit our risk profile in our investment portfolio and for such reason, rather than to be overweighted in equities, we prefer to be underweighted in equities. If we do any mistake, we prefer to do the mistake in the most conservative space. So for that reason, we reduced exposure. We did capital gains. Thanks God, the majority of it before the crisis in the Middle East. So we did around 50 million capital gains coming from an equity, which probably is, I don't know, around 20, 25 million more than last year for the same period. And it was exceptional due to the situation of the financial markets. So right now, we have to wait and see. what financial markets, how they would perform depending on the conflict. And as I said, the most important thing for us is if this is a short-term conflict or a medium-long-term conflict, because the impact that this could have in inflation, probably it could be high if this is a medium-term, long-term conflict. So this is the reason of one of the financial income.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you. Before we move on to the more strategy and target-related questions, we have one that just came in now from Paz Ojeda at Banque Salariel regarding the U.S. business. We mentioned that policies were beginning to stabilize, although premiums are down in local currency. Could you elaborate on the current market and pricing dynamics in the U.S.? ?

speaker
Felipe Navarro
Deputy General Manager of the Finance Area

Yes. Policies are stabilizing, which is quite a very good news for us, and the growth in premiums are quite stable in local currency. So that gives us a view, a point of view, that the situation in the U.S. market is prepared to what Jose Manuel already stated, that we were ready to start slowly growing and stabilizing the portfolio. On the other side, we are showing excellent combined ratio in the first quarter that was affected, of course, by the good climate during the first quarter. And we don't expect any kind of change unless there is any kind of big event. What we see from the gross return premium is that the market is continuing to adapt prices to the reality. It is true that the increases of prices are much, much lower than during the last years, and they were already fed into the profit and loss, all the price increases that we did in the past. and the market is already competitive and stable and we look forward for continuing to improve the profitability in the future quarters.

speaker
Jose Manuel Enchausti
Vice President of Mottray

If I may add, we are particularly satisfied with the first quarter results in USA, not only for the technical results, which are quite well with this 95% of combined buying ratio, but also for the commercial we after some quarters of technical, very hard technical job, in this quarter we have seen an increase in customers and we have seen an increase in market share, quota market share. I say after many quarters of work, working mainly in the technical aspect. So we are particularly happy with these results in our USA operation.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you. We're now going to move on to the final set of questions. They're surrounding our recently announced targets at the AGM. As a reminder, we have our main public target for the growth target, which is 6% on average over the three-year strategic plan, excluding life savings and constant exchange rates. We also have our combined ratio target and our ROE target. Specifically, they would like to know how do we see ourselves positioned to meet both the growth target and the combined ratio target and what risks are there from now until the year end for the combined ratio to move upward from the current level?

speaker
Jose Manuel Enchausti
Vice President of Mottray

What I say is that I can say that we maintain the commitments, the public commitments that were adopted in the AGM. Regarding ROE and regarding combined ratio, we are fully on track to fulfill the commitment by the end of the year. And we also maintain the growth commitment, the 6%, which is a constant exchange rate, and it's an average. And we still maintain the commitment that was recently done in the AGM.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you. Well, we'd like to make a few closing remarks. We have no further questions.

speaker
Jose Manuel Enchausti
Vice President of Mottray

Yes, if you make me, thank you for your question, if you make me some, to make some closing remarks, the first thing is that we present what I would call a fantastic first quarter from the point of view of the technical result, very solid results based main absolutely on technical improvement. no extraordinary results coming from the business or coming from the financial results. So that is the results of many years of some years of working in technical aspect, in pricing, in accounting expenses, et cetera. So this is the first thing. The second thing I would like to speak a little bit more about on growth. It is true that in the first quarter we have suffered from some no favorable effects but we are positive. We still have a positive outlook of coming quarters. The first thing that this negative one of effects that we have had in the first quarter, we will not have it in the next quarter. The second thing is the solid technical result that we have got and this is a very good starting point to have a profitable growth in the future. There is another thing we haven't, usually we don't mention, but we have got excellent NPS, Net Promoter Score qualification in our main geography. So this is a very important basic point as well. And we are in the process of deploying, already deployed many commercial initiatives on track. at a corporate level and also in the main geographies. So this is why we think that we could take that 6% commitment on average by the end of the year and we will see growth in the next quarters. The third thing I would like to highlight is the process transformation is is ongoing, we have deployed a very strong data governance in almost all the geographies in which we operate. We have an internal database which is called Atenea which is being deployed gradually in the main countries. We are deploying AI in the main processes of the company across the geographies for to give just an example In Spain we have 100 uses case with 28 million of positive impact on the profit and loss account. Our main system, our main IT system transformation plans are on track in Spain, in USA, in Germany and in other countries and we are working even in new ways of working more efficient and more agile within the company. And the last thing I would like to highlight is the brand transformation process that we have suffered at the beginning of the year. It will not have a short-term impact on the company, on the growth, but it has been received with a very positive feedback and the KPIs relating to this brand recognition, brand valuation, et cetera, we have seen a very positive impact and we have no doubt that in the mid-term will be a strong contributor to the development of the company. So overall, taking into account, of course, the geopolitical situation that we are monitorizing it every day, we have for the internal strengths that we have, we have a positive outlook, a reasonable positive outlook for the rest of the year.

speaker
Leandra Clark
Head of Investor Relations and Capital Markets

Thank you. Thank you, Jose Manuel, Jose Luis, and Felipe for your time today. And thank you for all of you who've connected. Before we close, as a reminder, all the documents are available on our website in addition to the 2025 embedded value figures. And also as a reminder, we're hosting a meeting next Monday afternoon in Madrid for analysts and investors. You should have received the invitation. If you haven't or haven't confirmed yet, please reach out to us. Thank you.

Disclaimer

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