Allianz avoided another year in the red in 2003 thanks only to a windfall asset sale after its troubled Dresdner Bank unit turned in a second consecutive annual loss of more than €1 billion.
Allianz chief executive Mr Michael Diekmann admitted the group had some way to go in turning round Dresdner and pledged to boost profits by selling more loss-making businesses.
But Mr Diekmann said that a radical overhaul of the group, which employs 900 people in Ireland, was not on the cards, saying US property and casualty insurer Fireman's Fund and industrial insurance arm Allianz Global Risks would not be sold.
He said the businesses, along with French insurer AGF Assurances, would stay in the group, adding that he saw no role for Dresdner in sector consolidation.
"It was a disappointment that Mr Diekmann was very cautious in his outlook for 2004, gave no concrete figures and repeated the same old story," said Mr Reiner Osbild, an analyst at private bank Sal Oppenheim in Frankfurt.
The company's banking arm, primarily Dresdner, racked up the highest losses of Allianz's four divisions. It reported a net loss of €1.27 billion, only a slight improvement on the previous year's €1.35 billion loss.
Allianz stock has fallen 7.5 per cent this year, underperforming the sector by nearly 10 per cent.
