Ladies and gentlemen, welcome and good morning. Welcome to the shareholders meeting of Assicurazioni Generali, convened today as an ordinary and extraordinary meeting at the company's offices in Trieste, floor seven of Palazzo Berlam, in Piazza Duca degli Abruzzi 1. As provided for in the Articles of Association, I shall chair the meeting. For the secretarial duties, I shall be assisted in accordance with Section 25 of the Articles of Association and of the meeting regulations by Mr. Giuseppe Catalano, Secretary of the Board of Directors of the company. I also invite notary, Mrs. Daniela Dado, to draw up the minutes of this meeting. This year, unlike last year, the meeting is being held in a format that does not require the physical attendance of those entitled to attend.
They may therefore participate in the meeting by granting a proxy to the designated representative, namely Computershare S.p.A., represented here by Mr. Alberto Elia. The board, which I chair, has in fact considered that the geopolitical tensions could have affected the orderly conduct of our meeting. Furthermore, in keeping with tradition, even those who are not entitled to attend may follow the opening remarks of the Group CEO, Mr. Philippe Donnet, the Group CFO, Mr. Cristiano Borean, and myself. I would therefore like to extend, also on behalf of my colleagues who sit with me at this table, a greeting to all those who are following this event via streaming. We believe that this is, as always, an important event in corporate communication, and we wish to enable a broad and inclusive audience of shareholders and stakeholders to follow it live.
This approach is consistent with Generali's strategy, which focuses on digital development and the integration of technology into its business. It is also thanks to these tools that we seek to achieve greater engagement with the so-called retail shareholders, who account for the largest segment of our shareholder base, comprising approximately 140,000 people. The streaming service, which places Generali among the world's best in this regard, includes simultaneous translation into English, German, French, and Spanish, as well as Italian sign language and subtitles. At the end of our presentations, the formal part of the meeting will start. This can be only accessed by those entitled to vote who have granted a proxy to the designated representative. We will now proceed to the first part of the meeting of the preliminary formalities. Today, 23rd of April, the meeting is held in ordinary and extraordinary session in one single call.
Pursuant to Article 2369 of the Italian Civil Code, the ordinary general meeting is validly constituted in a single call, regardless of the capital representative, and pursuant to the same article, the extraordinary general meeting is validly constituted in a single call when more than one-fifth of the share capital is represented. In the light of the information now provided to me by the designated representative, the latter old proxies, and voting instructions on all matters put to the vote for a quorum exceeding the minimum required by the applicable regulations in both ordinary and extraordinary meetings, as it is, 69.695% of the share capital is represented. The meeting is therefore validly constituted, both in ordinary and extraordinary sessions. We shall now move to the statements that I myself, Philippe Donnet, and Cristiano Borean, are addressing today to all those attending the first part of the meeting.
Dear shareholders, to me, it is a pleasure and an honor to open this meeting, introducing together with the Group CEO, Philippe Donnet, and CFO, Cristiano Borean, the main highlights of the latest fiscal year. There are excellent results set out in the financial statements we are presenting for your approval today. First of all, I'd like to express my sincere thanks to all the members of the board of directors and to our group's management team for their competence, responsibility, and spirit of service. Over the past years, their contribution has supported a period of significant growth for Generali, grounded in a constructive dialogue and always focused in the interest of the company and its stakeholders. A special thanks to the Group CEO, Philippe Donnet, for his leadership in launching the Lifetime Partner 27: Driving Excellence strategy.
At a time of profound external change and complexity, and for the significant contribution in combining industrial strength, financial discipline, and a long-term strategic vision. I wish to sincerely thank all the people in Generali every day with professionalism, commitment, and sense of belonging. They contribute to achieving the results of the group and the execution of our plan. For several years, we've been operating in an environment marked by a profound shift away from the balances of the pre-pandemic period.
Geopolitical tensions, which have made a dramatic return to the center of the international attention, are fueling a climate of uncertainty that affects global security and the stability of supply chains and energy prices, with repercussions for the real economy and daily lives of families and businesses. Alongside challenges linked to the energy and commodities, we are equally facing significant challenges in social cohesion, climate change, demographics, and technological advancement.
Financial markets have so far shown a degree of resilience, despite phases of marked volatility. However, instability and unpredictability remain structural factors, calling for careful judgment and a long-term vision. In this context, the very concept of resilience has taken on a deeper meaning. It is not simply a matter of withstanding difficult times, but of doing so with clarity, strategic consistency, and a long-term outlook, providing reliable points of reference in an increasingly fragmented environment. Generali has once again proved that it possesses these qualities. The economic and financial results that we are presenting today are the outcome of a solid and diversified business model, capable of generating value even in complex conditions such as those I have described, and of playing a stabilizing role for our clients, shareholders, and the communities in which we operate.
Philippe and Cristiano will explain in detail our main business development projects and the financial indicators that reflect their results. The strength of this progress has been widely and significantly recognized in the financial community. Last September, Fitch Ratings upgraded its rating for Generali and its main subsidiaries from A+ to AA-, a level well above Italy's sovereign rating. This is complemented by the market's continued appreciation for the quality of our model of governance and leadership, and our engagement with investors. Once again this year, Generali ranked at the top of the Extel surveys for the European insurance sector, reaffirming its leadership position in numerous categories, including best CEO, best CFO, best ESG program, and best investor relations team, best investor relations professional. These achievements are parts of the trajectory of a group which, by virtue of its history, scale, and geographical footprint, embodies a profoundly European identity.
Generali is Italy's leading insurance operator, holds top positions in the major Western European markets, and it has a significant and constantly growing presence in Central and Eastern Europe. In terms of territorial coverage and industrial solidity, this profile places the group among the leaders of Europe's insurance sector. It is also from this European perspective that we approach our role as a financial actor, fully aligned with the principles set out in the recent Letta and Draghi reports, which today serve as fundamental guidelines for the EU's economic agenda in addressing the structural loss of competitiveness by mobilizing resources, simplifying rules, and strengthening market integration.
We believe, in particular, that the creation of a savings and investment union represents a crucial step towards resolving one of Europe's longstanding vulnerabilities, its inability to retain and make full use of the vast volume of European private savings, which still largely flows to markets outside the continent. The aim is to channel these resources into long-term productive investments that support the real economy, innovation, and climate transition, and the economic security of Europe. Within this framework, the European insurance sector plays a strategic role. Insurance companies are among the continent's largest institutional investors, managing around EUR 10,000 billion in assets with a natural vocation for long-term investments in support of the real economy. Actually, the recently completed review of the Solvency II regulation is a move towards fully leveraging this role.
The changes introduced make the prudential system more consistent with the long-term nature of the insurance sector, enabling the release of additional resources to be allocated for long-term investments, from infrastructure to the energy and digital transitions and support for businesses, without compromising capital strength and policyholder protection, which remain a core element of the system. In this sense, the development of artificial intelligence is one of the most urgent priorities, representing an increasingly decisive leverage for strengthening the competitiveness of the European economy. From our standpoint as insurers, AI is an essential enabler for improving productivity, service quality, and risk management capabilities in line with Europe's need to bridge the technological gap and make full use of data and expertise.
Through the Lifetime Partner 27: Driving Excellence Plan, Generali is investing in responsible people-centered AI across the entire value chain, from client relations to risk prevention, from claims handling to risk management, with the aim of making its processes faster, more efficient, and more personalized while protecting trust, transparency, and the central role of human oversight. Alongside the theme of investment is the challenge represented by the protection gap, which remains central. In many parts of the world, including Europe, there's a significant difference persists between the risks to which families, businesses, and communities are vulnerable, notably climate change, health, catastrophic and social risks, and the level of available insurance cover. This gap is a structural vulnerability, which, if not addressed, could undermine the resilience of our economic systems and public finances.
In this context, insurance plays an increasingly central role, not only in repairing damage, but above all in risk prevention, strategic planning, and strengthening of long-term economic stability. Progress in big data management and AI applications now make it possible to develop more innovative and targeted solutions. However, this is not enough if it is not supported by public policies on prevention, territorial planning, and healthcare protection. This is a challenge that requires structured and ongoing collaborations between the public and private sectors. It is with this conviction that Generali has developed important partnerships over time with international organizations like UNDP and Insurance Development Forum, contributing to the development of insurance and risk finance solutions to strengthen the resilience of communities, businesses, and production systems, especially in the countries that are most exposed to climate change and geopolitical crisis.
We also highlight our partnership with UNIDO, launched with the EU Global Gateway program with the support of Italy, aimed at strengthening climate resilience, supporting local value, and promoting greater regulatory discipline in East African coffee supply chains, including parametric insurance solutions. As it is clear from everything I have outlined so far, environmental and social sustainability is not a separate area of activity for Generali, but a strategic leverage, fully integrated into the group's industrial choices. Throughout 2025 too, this coherent approach, fully aligned with our strategic objectives, continued to earn a strong appreciation from the market with important international recognition. Another key pillar in our strategy is the devotion to our people in the belief that their professionalism, skills, and engagement are essential drivers of resilience and, in the longer term, sustainable and responsible growth.
Confirming Generali's commitment to its people, over the year, we obtained Top Employer certification at European level and across 14 group companies. This achievement reflects a solid people strategy focused on constant upskilling, promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and adoption of increasingly flexible digital and people-oriented work models. At the heart of this strategy lies a determination to support sustainable performance and generate benefits for all stakeholders. Investments in upskilling, in the development of responsible leadership, and in the digitalization of our internal processes supports the evolution of the group and of our people, strengthening our ability to successfully navigate and embrace transformation in a rapidly changing world. Meanwhile, Generali continues to act as a responsible actor in the communities in which it operates.
In this area, The Human Safety Net successfully continued its work in helping people in vulnerable situations and supporting the integration of refugees for whom it also organizes professional and business training programs. In 2025, the foundation's initiatives involved more than 515,000 people across 25 countries, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to approximately 1.3 million since the beginning of the foundation, 2017. This commitment reflects Generali's concrete vision of itself as a long-term partner for people and communities.
Dear shareholders, before I close, I would like to say a few words about the importance the company places on its relationship with you. This relationship has been built over time on trust, transparency, and continuous engagement. It is one of the defining features of Generali's history and the responsibility that guides our long-term decisions. In this framework, this annual shareholders' meeting plays a central role in the life of the company.
It is a primary forum for all shareholders to exercise their rights and dialogue with the company's governing bodies, and one of the pillars of our governance model, founded on participation, balance of powers, and protection of the interests of all our stakeholders. This year, the meeting has been called upon to renew the board of statutory auditors. It is an essential body in our governance structure and is entrusted with a key role in overseeing operations, ensuring legal compliance, and guaranteeing the effectiveness and integrity of our administrative action in the interests of the company and its shareholders. I would like to thank the outgoing board for having carried out his duty with professionalism and integrity in accordance with the roles assigned to the various actors in corporate governance.
I would like to emphasize that the attendance in the meeting in all forms provided, whether in person or through the proxy granted to the designated representatives, a mechanism we have strengthened in the last few years as a direct contribution to the soundness and credibility of the group's governance system. Once again, this year, participation is also supported, and I would like to express my appreciation for the success of the Shareholders' Club, and it is aimed to facilitate engagement with the private investors who have chosen to invest in our company, offering them access to many services that are often little known that a large group like Generali provides. The club has reached over 2,000 members in just over a year, and I hope it will continue to grow.
Lastly, let me say a few words about Trieste, a city deeply connected to Generali's identity, history, and European vocation, and traditionally the venue of our annual shareholders' meeting. Trieste is where the group was founded and where it continues to invest with a long-term vision combining roots and future. A clear example of this is the renovation of Palazzo Carciotti, the original headquarters of Assicurazioni Generali, will be brought back to life as home of Agorai, the ecosystem promoted by Generali together with public and industrial and academic partners to develop a European hub of research, training, and applied innovation in data science and AI, in line with the challenges I described earlier. In conclusion, the journey I have described today demonstrates Generali's ability to respond to a complex and constantly evolving environment without losing its clarity of vision, discipline in execution, and its sense of responsibility.
In a time marked by a change in uncertainty, we believe that one of the roles of a major European insurance group is to offer stability, reliability, and a long-term perspective. We will continue to work on the basis of this approach, fully aware of the role Generali plays for its clients, its shareholders, its people, and the communities in which it operates. We will do so by valuing our roots and looking to the future with confidence and keeping at the heart of the principles of solidity, sustainability, and dialogue that have always distinguished our group. Thank you for your attention, for your participation to today's meeting, and for your continued trust in Generali. I now give the floor to Group CEO, Philippe Donnet.
Thank you .
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Dear shareholders, good morning, and thank you for attending this meeting, also on my own behalf. Even when held virtually, the shareholders' meeting represents a key moment of good governance and transparency, offering you, our shareholders, the opportunity to exercise your voting rights, and it is always a great pleasure for me to be part of it. I would also like to thank Chairman Sironi for his kind words regarding myself and our entire management team. This esteem is fully reciprocated, and we are truly grateful to him for the leadership and the balance he has shown in guiding our board of directors. I begin this report by emphasizing that the year 2025 was, once again, a truly positive year for the Generali Group.
In a highly complex global environment, we have successfully continued on our path of sustainable growth and value creation for you and for all of our stakeholders. I am deeply proud of this, and I thank all of our colleagues and agents f or making this possible through their hard work and their dedication.
As you know, last year saw the launch of the Lifetime Partner 27: Driving Excellence strategic plan, which will guide our group until 2027. The plan has three priorities, excellence in customer relations, excellence in core competencies, and excellence in the group's operating model. It is also based on three fundamental elements, our people, artificial intelligence and data, and finally, sustainability. In terms of targets, having achieved and exceeded all the objectives of the previous strategic cycle, we have set ourselves even more ambitious goals. A compound annual growth rate in earnings per share of between 8%-10%, over EUR 11 billion in cumulative cash generation, a compound annual growth rate in the dividend per share of over 10%. The financial performance recorded in 2025 confirms that we have got off to a good start.
As always, our Group Chief Financial Officer, Cristiano Borean, will walk you through all of the figures in more detail, but I would like to give you a preview of the key highlights from the financial statements that you are being asked to approve today. Operating profit and normalized net profit at EUR 8 billion and EUR 4.3 billion respectively, have once again reached record levels for the group. Also, the normalized earnings per share has seen a significant increase of 16.2% compared with the previous year, standing at EUR 2.85. This strong growth was driven by the excellent performance of the non-life business, characterized by high technical profitability and a 20% increase in the segment's operating profit. This was made possible by our disciplined strategic focus and by the numerous technical measures that we have implemented in underwriting, in cost containment, and risk and claims management.
We will, of course, continue along this path, focusing on portfolio quality and operational efficiency, not least through the increasingly widespread use of artificial intelligence, a topic I will discuss shortly. In the life business, net inflows of EUR 13.5 billion place us at the top of the European sector, confirming our continental leadership in this line of business. I would like to emphasize that this strong inflow has been driven by the business lines in which we are investing most heavily, pure risk and [health], hybrid products, and unit-linked. Over the past 10 years, we have transformed our life portfolio to optimize it, to make it less exposed to market volatility, and in order to increase value creation. These results confirm the success of this process. Finally, asset management has strengthened its growth trajectory.
Thanks in part to the contribution of Conning and its affiliates, the segment's operating profit recorded a strong growth compared to the year 2024, with an increase by 7.5%, reaching EUR 662 million. The same applies to revenues, which exceeded EUR 1.6 billion with an increase of 12.6%. Assets under management at Generali Investments Holding reached EUR 712 billion out of a total of EUR 900 billion managed at group level. When 10 years ago, we decided to make asset management a strategic business for the long-term growth of our company, the total assets we managed on behalf of third-party clients were less than EUR 50 billion. Today, they stand at EUR 384 billion, of which EUR 273 billion is within the asset management scope alone.
This figure, together with the more than EUR 16 billion in net inflows recorded last year, testifies to the excellent quality and variety of the offering we are able to provide to our clients. The performance recorded in 2025 was also made possible by the acquisitions made in recent years, and the contribution of all these companies is set to increase as their respective integration phases are completed. In the insurance business, the completion of the legal integration of Liberty Seguros, the group's most significant acquisition of the past decade, enables us to further strengthen our leadership in Europe. Growth also continued in the main Asian markets. In China, this resulted in the full acquisition of Generali China Insurance Company Limited.
We were the first foreign insurer to acquire full control of a local non-life company, and this demonstrates our ambitions for growth in the world's second-largest market in terms of premiums. The partnership with Central Bank of India will in turn allow us to consolidate the brand's positioning and distribution capabilities in another rapidly expanding market such as India. As regards asset management, I have already mentioned Conning, whose integration is proceeding according to plan. In addition to this, last October, we completed the acquisition of a 77% stake in the U.S. firm MGG Investment Group, which is key to further expanding our investments expertise in private markets. These excellent results and our extremely solid financial position enable us to propose a dividend of EUR 1.64 per share, a significant increase of 14.7% compared with the previous financial year.
We are also putting forward for your vote a new EUR 500 million share buyback program to be launched later this year, once all necessary authorizations have been obtained. We are therefore continuing to demonstrate, in concrete terms, our strong commitment to ensuring you receive a stable and growing return over time. As evidence of this, the dividend per share for the 2015 financial year, the last before I took up my post as group CEO in March 2016, stood at EUR 0.72, less than half of the current figure. At the same time, our share price has almost tripled in value and is now very close to its all-time highs. In the year 2025, it recorded a 30% growth, enabling us to outperform the European insurance sector index.
We are, of course, very proud of these figures, which are a testament to the quality of the work carried out and reflect the great confidence placed in us by the financial community and all of you, our shareholders. As Chairman Sironi has already pointed out, this is reflected in the excellent ratings from the leading rating agencies, which highlight our strong capital base, our robust operational performance, our highly favorable business profile, and our sound approach to risk management. We are equally pleased with the hard work carried out to improve our product offering in both business lines, also the effectiveness of our distribution channels and the overall customer experience. As you know, our commitment to them is summarized in our ambition to be their life partner, and we continue to work tirelessly to do that in the best possible way every day.
In 2025, we achieved a customer retention rate of almost 90%. Furthermore, we maintained our leading position compared to our main competitors in terms of the Relationship Net Promoter Score, an index that measures their customer satisfaction. In an increasingly competitive sector such as today's insurance industry, it is absolutely vital to maintain customer trust and gain an ever deeper understanding of all their needs and desires. Striving for excellence in customer relations means utilizing all the tools and technologies at our disposal, including artificial intelligence and data. As mentioned, this is one of the three strategic pillars of our plan. Thanks to the opportunity that AI offers us in every area of our business, we are working tirelessly on this, and I'm truly impressed by the quality of the results our dedicated teams are already achieving.
To give you a few examples, in the year 2024, we began a research collaboration with MIT in Boston aimed at studying practical applications where AI can offer us competitive advantages. The collaboration is progressing rapidly with three high-impact use cases now nearing completion and others already planned for the coming months. In addition to this, just two months ago, we announced Generali Core Tech, the new software factory that will enable us to accelerate our technological transformation in the insurance sector by making extensive use of AI. AI is also fundamental to the optimization of our internal processes and is already transforming the way we manage claims and complaints. Finally, given the excellent results already achieved, we have increased our estimates of the expected benefits from implementing AI from EUR 300 million to EUR 350 million by the end of 2027.
I will conclude this overview by adding a brief comment on the Agorai Innovation Hub. Work with all the partners involved in this important initiative is progressing very positively and has the potential to make a truly significant contribution to the development of AI at both national and European level. As for the other two cornerstone of our plan, I'll start with our commitment to our people. In 2025, we continued to invest in training initiatives, a hallmark of Generali, to promote our employees' ongoing professional development, to strengthen their key skills for the future, and thereby provide tangible support for the achievement of our strategic objectives. This commitment helps to strengthen Generali's position as an ideal employer and is also recognized through external certifications such as the Top Employer certification, which we achieved this year at European level and across 14 group companies.
We are also particularly pleased with the exceptional response to the latest Global Pulse Survey 2025, in which 89% of our colleagues worldwide took part. The index measuring their level of motivation and active engagement with the group and its results reached 85%, the highest figure in the survey's history, well above the relevant market benchmark. These figures reflect our people's strong desire to shape Generali's future together. Finally, I would also like to mention the great success of participation in We SHARE 2.0, the second edition of the share scheme reserved for group employees. Launched in 2023, this initiative has seen the participation of over 23,000 colleagues in more than 30 countries and has also been recognized internationally for its innovation and originality. Through We SHARE, we promote our people's involvement in achieving the group's strategic objectives by recognizing the value created.
We considered it very important to continue along this shared path in the coming years, which is why we are today putting the approval of the third edition of the scheme to your vote. Finally, looking at sustainability, we are very pleased with the progress made against the specific targets of our strategic plan. The results we achieved in 2025 confirm that promoting social resilience and supporting the green transition are not only the right choices, but also drivers of sustainable and profitable growth. It is particularly significant that our leadership continues to be recognized internationally. For the first time, we have been included in Time magazine's ranking of companies that successfully integrate sustainability into their business model, while Newsweek has recognized us as one of the greenest companies in the world.
At the same time, as the chairman has already mentioned, we have continued our work as a responsible corporate citizen, playing an active role in public-private partnerships across numerous sectors. We remain convinced that these collaborations are a fundamental tool for tackling the major transformations of the present, and we will continue to support, with our resources and our expertise, the development and resilience of communities and regions to build a more inclusive and sustainable future. In conclusion, what we have achieved over the past year strengthens our confidence and fuels a solid sense of optimism regarding the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. The strength and consistency of the results we have achieved confirmed and confirm today that we are executing our plan with the utmost discipline, continuing to create sustainable value for you, our shareholders, and for all our stakeholders.
2026 is the pivotal year of the Lifetime Partner 27: Driving Excellence strategy, and will therefore mark a crucial turning point towards its completion and the achievement of all of our objectives. We will continue to deliver on our promise to be a lifetime partner for all our customers every day, and we will continue to operate in a world characterized by increasing uncertainty and geopolitical tensions. It is precisely in the most critical moments that a great insurer and asset manager truly makes a difference. We feel the honor and the responsibility that come from being part of a great group with a history spanning 195 years, and this makes us even more motivated to do our work at best.
I would like to express, once again, my gratitude to our entirely extraordinary management team and to all of our colleagues and agents who are the heart and soul of Generali, and to you, our shareholders, for your trust and your active involvement, which are essential to the company's growth and development. Thank you for your attention. I will now hand over to our Group Chief Financial Officer, Cristiano Borean.
Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Philippe. Good morning, everyone. As usual, in this speech, I'm presenting to you the main performance of the group and the parent company, Generali, whose financial statements we have submitted for your approval today. As already anticipated by Philippe, despite a complex global context, in 2025, Generali achieved excellent results, and it confirms the outstanding start of the Lifetime Partner 27: Driving Excellence strategic plan. Gross written premiums reached EUR 98.1 billion, increasing by 3.6% thanks to the significant growth in our P&C segment. Gross written premiums in Life grew to EUR 61.9 billion, plus 1.4%, driven by traditional savings and protection and health lines. The traditional savings line recorded a strong increase, especially in Asia, while protection and health line grew in most countries in which the group operates.
Hybrid and unit-linked products recorded a slight decrease, reflecting the comparison with a strong financial year 2024, during which targeted commercial actions were implemented to support the inflows. P&C gross written premiums grew significantly to EUR 36.2 billion, +7.6%, thanks to the positive performance of both business lines. Non-motor line rose by 7.3%, while motor line by 7.5%, achieving widespread growth all across all the main areas in which the group operates. Excluding the contribution from Argentina, a country affected by hyperinflation, the motor line premiums would have increased by 5.7%. Best-in-class Life net inflows rising to EUR 13.5 billion, +42.5%, mainly driven by protection and unit-linked and hybrid lines, recording positive net inflows, respectively at EUR 4.5 billion and at EUR 6.6 billion. In line with the group's strategy.
Net inflows of traditional savings line rose to EUR 2.4 billion, minus EUR 312 million at the end of 2024, thanks to the development in Italy, Germany, and Asia. The group's total assets under management grew significantly to EUR 900 billion, 4.3% increase, thanks to positive inflows and the contribution of recent acquisitions. Third-party assets under management reached a record level of EUR 384 billion. The results confirm the excellent group performance with the record operating results in continuous growth to EUR 804 million, 9.7% increase, thanks to the positive development of Life, 4.3%, P&C, 20%, and Assets and Wealth Management, 1.5% segments, reflecting the diversification of profit sources.
The new business margin on present value of new business premiums stood at 5.66%, 0.25 percentage points, mainly reflecting more favorable product mix and features. The undiscounted combined ratio continued its very positive development to 94.3%. It was 95.9% at the end of 2024.
This benefited from the improved undiscounted current year attritional loss ratio and lower impact from natural catastrophe, partially offset by a lower contribution from a prior year's development. The expense ratio increased to 29.4%, 0.6 percentage point. More than half of this increase was due to pure accounting effects, partly reflected in higher acquisition expenses, despite lower administration expenses. The operating results of asset and wealth management reached EUR 1,194 million, mainly driven by the asset management result, which increased by 7.5% to EUR 662 million. The contribution to the operating results of Banca Generali Group equal to EUR 532 million, -5.1% over the previous year, reflects the lower contribution from performance fees. The operating results of the holding and other businesses was -EUR 610 million.
It was -EUR 536 million at the end of 2024, mainly resulting from the payment of a one-off exit tax related to the closure of a foreign entity, lower intragroup dividends and increasing operating holding expenses, also due to costs related to projects defined in a new strategic plan. The non-operating result amounted to -EUR 1,641,000,000. It was -EUR 1,255,000,000 at the end of 2024, mainly due to higher restructuring costs and lower non-operating investment results. The latter was mostly a reflection of the capital gain from the disposal of the TUA Assicurazioni in 2024 and the exchange rate impact on certain U.S.-denominated investments. The net results amounted to EUR 4,172,000,000. It was EUR 3,724,000,000 at the end of 2024. The adjusted net result reached an all-time high of EUR 4,315,000,000, increasing by 14.5%. This was primarily thanks to the improved operating results, which benefited from increasingly diversified profit sources.
The earnings per share adjusted grew to EUR 2.85 with a 16.2% significant increase, driven by the strong underlying business performance and the positive effect of the EUR 500 million share buyback executed over 2025. The group confirmed its extremely sound capital position with the solvency ratio at 219%. It was 210% at the end of 2024, thanks to the sound contribution of normalized capital generation and the positive market variances. The group's shareholders' equity increased to EUR 32,064,000,000, plus 5.5%, attributable to the net result of the period and the issuance of the perpetual bond classified Restricted Tier 1, EUR 5 billion, considered equity instrument. This positive effect is partially offset by the 2024 dividend and the purchases of own shares in 2025. Net holding cash flow was EUR 3,762,000,000. It was EUR 3,761,000,000 in 2024, especially thanks to the growing remittance, primarily driven by recurring components.
Emphasizing the solidity of our cash and capital contribution, both an increase in the dividend per share and a share buyback plan to be launched in 2024 will be submitted for your approval today. The latter is also subject to the relevant regulatory approvals. In the second part of the speech, I'm going to outline the main economic and financial indicators of the parent company. The gross premiums written amounted to EUR 7.223 billion, up by 15.4%. The increase was driven in particular by the significant growth in life segment premiums, 53.1%, attributable to the new reinsurance acceptance from the French subsidiary, Generali Vie. The gross written premium in the P&C segment also rose, supported primarily by the positive performance of direct business. The net profit for the period amounted to EUR 3.515 billion, down compared to the previous year, -4.7%.
This performance is driven by the impact from the closing of certain derivative position opened for group risk hedging purposes, as well as the depreciation of certain balance sheet items due to exchange rate movements. We also recall that in 2024, a one-off gain was recorded from the disposal of TUA Assicurazioni. The shareholders' equity stood at EUR 19.623 billion, up by 2.9% as a result of the profit for the period, partially offset by the 2024 dividend and the purchases of own shares in 2025. The total assets reached EUR 70.772 billion, with a growth of 22.8%. Net technical reserves increased to EUR 24.288 billion from EUR 11.702 billion in 2024. In the Life, this increase primarily reflects the new reinsurance acceptance from the Generali Vie, as I said before.
The growth in the P&C segment reflects the development of reinsurance accepted directly by the parent company within the global corporate and commercial segment and the contribution of the Luxembourg branch. External debt amounted to EUR 11.3 billion +4.5%, and the change accounts for a temporary effect resulting from debt refinancing activities. Finally, the solvency position is confirmed as sound at 268.6%. It was 269.7% at the end of 2024. As Philippe already mentioned, the dividend we propose for your approval is EUR 1.64 per share, increased by 14.7%, resulting in a total maximum paid out of EUR 2.48 billion. In addition, we are submitting today for your approval a share buyback of EUR 500 million, also subject to the relevant regulatory approvals. This confirms the group's continuous focus on increasing shareholder remuneration, supported by very positive results and a strong cash and capital position.
Finally, the results achieved in 2025 confirm Generali's excellent performance with further growth in premiums. Thanks to the significant growth in our P&C segment and best-in-class Life net inflows, record operating and adjusted net results, an extremely sound capital position, and a growing cash generation. Thanks to all this and confirming the group's commitment to continued growth in shareholder remuneration, we are submitting for your approval a proposal for a double-digit growth in dividend per share and a share buyback of EUR 500 million. These excellent results increase our confidence in achieving our strategic targets. We continued a strong focus on the implementation of our ambitious Lifetime Partner 27: Driving Excellence strategic plan. Finally, I also want to address all our people for the commitment, dedication, and heart shown again in 2025 today, who are the true strength of our lion and their families. I express my most sincere thanks.
Thanks for your attention. I will now give the floor to Chairman Sironi.
I would like to thank my colleagues for their contribution. This brings the first part of the assembly to a close. I would like now to thank everyone who has been following our meeting via live stream. Before moving on to the second part of the meeting, which is reserved for authorized participants only, I would like to share a video with you about the One Tree per Shareholder program, launched in 2022. This program combines participation in the general meeting with a concrete act of sustainability, the planting of a tree for each participant. Since then, almost 14,000 trees have been planted, thanks to the shareholders who, year after year, have turned their voice into tangible gesture. This year, too, a tree will once again be planted for every shareholder.
Every shareholder present at the general meeting, of course, transforming a small individual gesture into a great collective act of environmental regeneration. Thank you for your attention, and goodbye.