Generali Peru sees US$37mn revs. in 2003

The Peruvian subsidiary of Italian insurance company Generali forecasts revenues of US$37mn this year, up 11.4% from the US$33.2mn booked in 2002, Generali Peru CEO Bruno Orlandini told BNamericas. Orlandini said the company would be able to meet its sales target thanks to a review of its client portfolio and an increase in premiums that saw the exit of several unprofitable clients. Generali Peru's market share is currently 5-7%, and according to Orlandini the company's goal is to grow that share one percentage point a year in line with the expectations of its Italian parent. Generali released its 2002 financial results on Thursday. Latin America represented only 3% of the group's total revenues, Orlandini said. The parent company has outlined a 617mn-Euro (US$664mn) cost cutting plan during 2003-2005 that includes the dismissal of 2,200 employees at its international operations. The bulk of the cuts will be made in Europe, Orlandini said, adding that Generali's Latin American operations have been making cuts for the last four years. "It is always a possibility, but I have never seen Generali withdraw from any country," he said when asked if the Italian insurance giant would quit the region. One idea that is being studied at Generali is the consolidation of its regional operations into a single entity that would report to a regional office, Orlandini said, without giving the time frame for such a decision. The Generali group is comprised of 614 companies that are directly or indirectly controlled by Italy's largest insurance company Assicurazioni Generali.