Generali avoids writedown on Greek debt Generali's third-quarter net profit surged as Italy's largest insurer by premiums cut costs and did not repeat writedowns on Greek sovereign debt. The Trieste-based insurer said operating profit for the year would exceed €4bn, in line with a previously announced forecast range of €3.9bn-€4.5bn and slightly above the €3.9bn registered last year. The company is expecting premiums in its life business to be equal to last year while they increase in the non-life sector. Net profit in the third quarter rose to €291m compared with €19.5m in the same period last year. While the improvement continued an upward swing for Generali's profit - in the second quarter the insurer posted its first improvement in net profit in a year - it came in below analysts" expectations of about €325m. The third-quarter results were the first earnings statement that includes the period since Mario Greco took over as chief executive in August. He has made adjustments to the top management, including making himself the sole chief executive after a period of more than 15 years in which the insurer had two people in the role, and is expected to unveil a new strategic plan in January. That plan will probably include information on asset sales, specifically regarding Generali's Swiss asset management unit BSI Group and its US reinsurance business. Generali recently finalised the sale of Israeli unit Migdal for €705m as it seeks to exit non-core businesses. Total premiums inched up 1.8 per cent in the first nine months of the year, to €50.9bn, mostly due to an increase in non-life premiums, particularly in France and Germany, which together account for almost half of the total premiums, as well as in central and eastern Europe. While premiums in the life business remained flat, with a strong third quarter compensating for a negative first half of the year, the segment showed a sharp increase in operating profit that made up for a decline in the non-life sector. For the first nine months of the year, net profit rose 37 per cent to €1.1bn. While the company in May confirmed a forecast of €1.8bn for full-year net profit, which would be more than double last year's figure, there has been no mention of that target since Mr Greco took over. The manager has said he considers operating profit the preferred metric to judge the company's performance. Generali's shares, which have gained about 6 per cent this year, were 1.3 per cent lower at €12.24 in early trading while Italy's benchmark index was flat.