Bajaj Anz eyes Rs 600 cr profit; Rs 4,700 cr premium FY'14

Private general insurer Bajaj Allianz hopes to close the current fiscal with around Rs 600 crore profit and a premium income of over Rs 4,700 crore.
The Pune-based firm expects to grow above the industry average by around 4 per cent in 2014.
"We are likely to end this fiscal with around Rs 600 crore of profit and over Rs 4,700 crore in premium income this fiscal. Though the industry growth has slowed down in recent months, we hope to grow 3-4 per cent more than the industry average in 2014," Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Managing Director and chief executive Tapan Singhel told PTI.

The company had closed last fiscal with Rs 4,000 crore premium income.
After registering around 18 per cent growth last fiscal, growth rate of the industry has come down to around 12-13 per cent in the past few months due to slowdown in auto sales coupled with the slowdown in the economy.
Talking on growth prospects of the economy, Singhel said there may not be much change due to the forthcoming elections, but 2015 will be better for the GI industry.

He further said the second largest private sector general insurer hopes to close the fiscal with a profit of around Rs 600 crore.

"Motor and health constitute 75 per cent of the business of the industry. Our focus will remain on these two important segments. However, emphasis on other lines of business will continue," he said.
The insurer is also likely to come up with 10-15 new products in the current year.
On the need for capital infusion from the promoters, Singhel said there is no such requirement as its internal accruals will take care of its growth in the near future.
Recently, credit rating agency Icra said general insurers might need around Rs 17,500 crore in fresh capital over the next five years with the requirement for private sector at around Rs 8,000 crore.

Bajaj Allianz, which has a sound bancassurance presence, is also of the view that if the Bajaj group gets a banking licence that will help improving synergy for the company.
Bajaj Allianz is the joint venture between Germany-based Allianz Group and Bajaj Finserv in which 74 per cent of stake is held by the later.