Storebrand Asa Unsp/Adr

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Storebrand's first quarter result presentation. As usual, our CEO, Odd-Aril Grefstad, will present the key highlights of the quarter, followed by CFO, Lars Løddesøl, who will dive deeper into the numbers. At the end of the presentation, participants in the team's webinar will have a chance to ask questions. Details on how to join the webinar are found on the Investor Relations website. But without further ado, I give the word to our CEO, Odd-Aril Grefstad.

Thank you, Johannes, and good morning, everyone. 2025 has so far been characterized by increased geopolitical uncertainty and market volatility. But the impact on Storbrann has been very limited, and our risk management system work as intended. Equity markets have recovered since Liberation Day and interest rate volatility has stabilized. Through the first quarter, we saw increased demand for support and advice from our customers. Our customer-facing teams maintained high availability and swift customer response times. In periods of market volatility, Storbrand benefits from having a diversified business model and asset management base. Storbrand's AUM is a mix of long-term pension money, which flows into equity mandates, and more stable AUM from alternatives and bonds. The captive AUM accounts for 44% of Storbrand's equity investments, making it very sticky. This is supported by an annual net inflow of around 20 billion from the unit-linked pension business. This is long-term money, mostly coming from mandatory corporate-sponsored pension schemes. In addition to these supporting drivers, Storbrand's overall AOM base has become increasingly diversified. More than 50% of our AOM is now allocated to bonds and alternatives, characterized by longer commitments and less immediate sensitivity to market fluctuations. And with that introduction, let me turn to highlights for the first quarter. Storbrand's group cash-based earnings amounted to 1,167 million in the quarter, while the operating result was 800 million, up by 16% year-on-year. The operating result was driven by strong growth, particularly in savings and insurance. and satisfactory cost control, despite an increase in sales-driven costs in insurance. Meanwhile, the financial result of 367 million was made up of profit sharing from both Norway and Sweden, and solid returns from the company portfolios. Storbrand's long-term ambition is to conduct annual share buybacks of 1.5 billion, taking total buybacks to 12 billion by the end of 2030. The buyback program for 2025 is split into two tranches of 750 million each, the first of which is expected to be completed by the end of June. During the first quarter, we executed buybacks of 300 million. Since the end of the quarter, we have bought back shares worth 140 million, taking the total amount so far this year to 440 million. As many of you are familiar with, Storbrand aims to take three commercial positions in the markets we operate in. A, to be a leading provider of occupational pensions in both Norway and Sweden. And B, to be a Nordic powerhouse in asset management. And C, to be a fast-growing challenger in the Norwegian retail market for financial services. These positions are strengthened by our strategic enablers, people, sustainability and digital frontrunner. together unlocking additional growth. I am again pleased to report that the growth in the business continued strongly during the quarter, particularly in our insurance segment. Now let me go into further detail on our growth areas and share some highlights from the quarter. Within UnitLinked, volumes grew by 9% year on year, supported by structural growth in both our core markets in Norway and Sweden. In the same period, we saw strong result growth of 9% in our Norwegian business. I am pleased to report that we have entered into a new distribution partnership with Danske Bank in our Swedish pension business, which is expected to further enhance our market reach. Within public occupational pension, the majority of the mandates worth 4.5 billion won in 2024 was transferred into Storbrann in this quarter. Within asset management, fee and administration income increased by 19% from first quarter 2024. The inclusion of Infrastructure Asset Manager management had a negative effect of our operating result in the quarter, but the full year impact is expected to be positive. This is driven by additional fees expected to be recognized in the second half of the year. It is also worth mentioning that asset management saw positive net flow during the quarter, supported by flow from the captive unit-linked business. The Norwegian retail market is also this quarter characterized by strong growth. Notably, the result contribution from retail banking, including Kyron, was up by 73% compared to Q1 2024. Additionally, portfolio premiums in retail insurance have increased by 24% since Q1 2024, driven by effective repricing strategies and strong distribution. The market share in P&C Insurance is now 7.1%, up from 6.5% in the same quarter last year. Although strong sales contribute to increasing costs in the short term, I am pleased to see that we continue to take market share in this market. More long term, We gradually see a more balanced and scalable insurance business with more P&C risk in Storbrann. I'm convinced that this is a very value-creating journey for our shareholders. Now, let me take a step back and look at the business overall. The earnings momentum in the Storbrann Group remains strong. The shift in the business model continues. We capture the structural growth. And finally, we succeed with our new growth initiatives with insurance and public sector. And with that, I give the word back to you, Johannes.

Thank you, Odd Aril. Now let's take a closer look at the numbers. Lars, please go ahead. Thank you, Johannes.