Finnish insurer Sampo raised its medium-term profit outlook on Wednesday after its underwriting result grew in the first nine months of the year, marking a strong first quarter for new Chief Executive Morten Thorsrud.
The company said it now expects annual average growth in operating earnings per share of more than 9% for the 2024-2026 period, up from a previous target of more than 7%.
The upgrade followed a 17% currency-adjusted increase in its underwriting result to 1.12 billion euros for the January to September period, which the company attributed to strong premium growth.
"The strong and sustained growth delivered by our retail and SME divisions shows that our organic growth strategy has traction," said Mr. Thorsrud, who took the helm on Oct. 1.
"On the back of excellent performance, we have raised our operating EPS target as we look to 2026 with confidence and ambition."
Sampo also announced a new 150 million euro share buyback program.
The buyback will be funded by proceeds from reducing its stake in consumer bank NOBA during its successful initial public offering in September, which contributed a net gain of 355 million euros to Sampo's third-quarter results.
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