Grupo Sura 3Q 2021 Net Income Soars 192% Year-on-Year

Medellin-based multinational insurance, health-care and financial-services giant Grupo Sura announced November 12 that its third quarter (3Q) 2021 net income skyrocketed by 192% year-on-year, to COP$445 billion (US$114 million).

Revenues rose 23% year-on-year, to COP$6.6 trillion (US$1.7 billion), the company added.

As for the first nine months of 2021, net income is up 181%, to COP$1.1 trillion (US$283 million), while revenues are up 17%, to COP$18 trillion (US$4.6 billion), according to the company.

“Grupo Sura continues to see an ongoing recovery with its different lines of business,” the company noted, citing economic recovery along with declining rates of Covid-19 infections.

“During 3Q 2021, revenues rose by 23.3%, given growths of 20.5% in written [insurance] premiums and 15.4% in fee and commission income, with investment income rising by 41.6%.

“Total costs and expenses rose by 15.5% compared to the same period last year and 20.6% for the third quarter alone. This growth is mainly due to the impacts of the pandemic that continued to affect [insurance division] Suramericana, bearing in mind that Covid-related costs and expense for nine months total COP$1.5 trillion [US$386 million] on a [nine-months 2021] year-to-date basis and COP$352 billion [US$90.6 million] for 3Q 2021,” the company added.

The Suramericana division has seen its health-care insurance premiums grow by 36% for the first nine months of 2021, while the life insurance segment gained 13% year-on-year, according to the company.

“On the other hand, retained claims rose by 27.9%, mainly due to the effects of the pandemic that, on a year-to-date basis at the end of September stood at COP$1.5 trillion [US$386 million] compared to COP$648 billion [US$167 million] for the same [nine-months] period last year,” according to Sura

“However, a slight decrease in the spread of Covid-19 compared to previous quarters accounted for an improvement in the company’s earnings, thereby producing a year-to-date net income [for the Suramericana division] of COP$4 billion [US$1 million], which is very much in line with the results obtained for the third quarter, at COP$4.7 billion [US$1.2 million],” the company added.

As for the Sura Asset Management investment division, “this subsidiary’s operating revenues reached COP$2.2 trillion [US$566 million] at the end of 3Q 2021, for a growth of 18.3% in pesos and 12.8% in local currency compared to the same period last year,” according to Sura.

“The 15.8% growth in fee and commission income — as well as the improved revenues received via the equity method, mainly from [pension fund operator] Protección –reached COP$19.8 billion [US$5 million].

“The investment management and ‘Inversiones Sura’ lines of business continued to score double-digit growths at the end of 3Q 2021, both in assets-under-management as well as fee and commission income compared to the same period last year, thereby posting COP$33 billion [US$8.5 million] in net income.

“Thanks to all of the this, [Sura Asset Management] posted a net income figure of COP$525 billion [US$135 million] at the end of 3Q 2021, for a growth of 104.1% compared to the same period last year,” the company added.

As for Sura’s stock holdings in Medellin-based Bancolombia, Nutresa and Grupo Argos, “these produced a growth of 228.7% compared to [nine-months 2020], adding another COP$867 billion [US$223 million] to Grupo Sura’s bottom line,” according to the company.

“This improvement was mainly due to an increase with Bancolombia’s net income, along with a sustained growth with Nutresa’s bottom line and the recovery seen with that of Grupo Argos,” the company added.