DJ euro adhoc: Vienna Insurance Group / Financial Figures/Balance Sheet / Vienna Insurance Group Q3 growth shows no sign of slowing yet:Excellent premium development continues: six billion euro mark surpassedCzech Republic after three quarters for the first time posts over one billion euros in premiums Particularly strong growth in Poland and RomaniaGood outlook for 2008 continuesDividend for 2008 remains unchanged

DJ euro adhoc: Vienna Insurance Group / Financial Figures/Balance Sheet / Vienna Insurance Group Q3 growth shows no sign of slowing yet:Excellent premium development continues: six billion euro mark surpassedCzech Republic after three quarters for the first time posts over one billion euros in premiums Particularly strong growth in Poland and RomaniaGood outlook for 2008 continuesDividend for 2008 remains unchanged

Vienna Insurance Group / Financial Figures/Balance Sheet 

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  Disclosure announcement transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible
  for the content of this announcement.
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11.11.2008 

Please note: this is a translation; only the German version of this release is
legally binding. 

OVERVIEW OF KEY GROUP DATA FOR THE FIRST THREE QUARTERS OF 2008 (IFRS*) 

In the first three quarters of the current year, the Vienna Insurance Group was
able to achieve a total growth in premiums of 19.6 percent. It thus continues to
be among the fastest-growing insurance groups in Europe. Consolidated premiums
written (excluding other insurance participations) totalled EUR 6.02 billion.
The Vienna Insurance Group thus for the first time surpassed the six billion
euro premium mark on the Group level after three quarters. 

(The premium income of Bank Austria Creditanstalt Versicherung and Unita has
been included only up to deconsolidation, i.e. 30 June 2008, and the premium
income of Sparkassen Versicherung in Austria only as from 1 July 2008.
Furthermore, the premium income of s Versicherung Group in the individual CEE
countries and of the BCR insurances in Romania are not included.) 

The year-on-year increase in Group profit (before taxes, consolidated) was even
more pronounced, rising by a remarkable 25.5 percent to a total of EUR 406.78
million. 

At 96 percent, the combined ratio of the Group after reinsurance (not
considering investment income) continues to remain clearly below the 100 percent
mark. 

Financial results (before allocation to the mathematical reserve in life
insurance) in the first three quarters of the current year amounted to EUR
806.24 million, a gain of 8.5 percent compared with the same period in 2007. 

As of 30 September 2008, investment volume of the Group amounted to EUR 24.22
billion. This corresponds to a 20.1 percent increase compared to 31 December
2007. 

OUTLOOK 

Depending on the development of the capital markets in the fourth quarter of
2008, the Group will be able to achieve the forecast Group profit (before taxes,
consolidated) in the amount of approximately EUR 540 million. 

As regards the international capital markets, almost all forecasts of financial
results have proved wrong so far. Therefore, the Vienna Insurance Group will fix
its targets for 2009 to 2011 only after observing the further development. In
any case, the managing board of the Vienna Insurance Group in 2009 will seek to
at least repeat and - depending on the capital market development - outperform
the expected very good result for 2008. 

Based on its knowledge of its CEE markets, the Vienna Insurance Group assumes
that the premium growth it will be able to achieve in this region in the next
few years will again be clearly above that of Western Europe on account of
insurance markets in the CEE region being not yet as saturated as those in
Western Europe. 

Despite the capital increase in May 2008 and the increased number of shares by
23 million, the managing board will suggest to the competent corporate bodies to
maintain a dividend of EUR 1.10 per share. 

* The Group figures for the Vienna Insurance Group do not include the aquired
insurance companies of the Erste Group in CEE. 

end of announcement                               euro adhoc
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 11, 2008 01:59 ET (06:59 GMT)