Health, Motor Insurers Benefit From Pandemic -- Earnings at a Glance

The Covid-19 pandemic has helped and hurt insurers, depending on what the companies are insuring.

CVS Health Corp., which owns insurance giant Aetna, joined other health insurers realizing savings from skipped elective procedures and reduced visits to clinics and emergency rooms. Those savings have well eclipsed insurers' payouts for coronavirus care.

Hastings Group Holdings PLC also had higher earnings in the first half of the year. The U.K. motor insurer had fewer claims amid the pandemic lockdowns. While claims frequencies have increased during the second quarter as the restrictions have eased, they remain lower than the same time a year ago, Hastings said.

Hannover Re SE's net profit for the first six months of the year fell 39% as the German reinsurance giant set aside more money to cover potential losses caused by the pandemic.

Allianz SE saw its second-quarter net profit and revenue decline partly due to its property-casualty business, which had losses related to the pandemic.

Legal & General Group PLC reported a fall in operating pretax profit for the first half of 2020 and said its operating profits were resilient. The FTSE 100-listed insurance company said the effects of the coronavirus pandemic totaled 129 million pounds ($168.6 million).

Other earnings reported Wednesday:

BMW AG: The German luxury-car maker turned a loss in the second quarter as revenue fell 22% during the coronavirus pandemic. BMW Chief Executive Oliver Zipse said the company was cautiously optimistic for the second half of the year.

BorgWarner Inc.: The U.S. company, which focuses on combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles technology solutions, turned a loss in the second quarter as net sales took a hit due to disruptions arising from the pandemic.

Commerzbank AG: The German bank expects to be loss-making this year as it posted a decline in second-quarter profits that were hit by higher provisioning related to the pandemic.

Continental AG: The German car-parts supplier reported a loss in the second quarter as the effects of the pandemic hit its business. "There hasn't been a market collapse in the automotive industry like we currently witnessing since the end of the Second World War," Continental's Chief Executive Elmar Degenhart said.

Ferrexpo PLC: The FTSE 250 Switzerland-based miner said the pandemic affected demand in most markets but its operations continued with minimal disruption. Ferrexpo reported a lower profit for the first half and expects to see a recovery in steel demand outside of China in the second half.

Grandvision NV: The Dutch optical retailer swung to a net loss for the first half of 2020. Revenue fell 28% as a result of store closures related to the pandemic.

Honda Motor Co.: The Japanese auto maker posted a net loss in its first quarter, as pandemic restrictions reduced production and forced retail stores to close or shorten their operating hours. Honda said the pandemic likely cut its first-quarter pretax profit by 440 billion yen ($4.16 billion) and it expects the pandemic to reduce its fiscal-year pretax profit by Y665 billion.

Jollibee Foods Corp.: The Philippine food-services company posted another quarterly loss as Covid-19 restrictions weighed on sales. Jollibee Foods, which also owns Los Angeles-based The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, expects its financial performance to improve progressively in the next two quarters as its more than 5,000 stores reopen with the easing of the Covid-19 restrictions.

Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV: The Netherlands-based owner of grocery chains such as Stop & Shop and Giant Food raised its guidance for the year as it reported market-beating net profit for the second quarter due to "unprecedented" demand in both the U.S. and Europe.

Moderna Inc.: The U.S. pharmaceutical company reported higher second-quarter revenue as income from grants to find a Covid-19 vaccine increased. Chief Executive Stephane Bancel said Moderna has signed small-volume supply contracts for its experimental Covid-19 vaccine that price the shots at $32 to $37 per dose.

New York Times Co.: The newspaper company reported a 44% decline in advertising revenue in its second quarter as the punishing impact of the coronavirus outbreak came to bear, more than offsetting a record increase in digital subscriptions.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.: The U.S. drugmaker's profit surged above Wall Street's expectations in the latest quarter on the back of collaborations with other pharmaceutical giants. Regeneron said sales from its collaborations with drugmakers Bayer AG and Sanofi rose 45%, but sales of its age-related macular degeneration eye drug Eylea were negatively affected by the pandemic, falling 3.9%.

Voestalpine AG: The Austrian steelmaker turned an after-tax loss in the first quarter of its fiscal year. Voestalpine cited a "massive meltdown in demand" for almost all of its customer segments due to the pandemic.

Wayfair Inc.: The U.S. online furniture seller turned a profit for the first time since going public in 2014, as more house-bound online shoppers bought home goods during the pandemic, a trend so new and volatile that Chief Executive Niraj Shah said it's hard to predict whether it would last.

William Hill PLC: The U.K. betting company said its adjusted profit and revenue fell sharply in the first half of 2020 and it will close 119 shops in the wake of the pandemic.

Write to Mary de Wet at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 05, 2020 13:07 ET (17:07 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.