Danish pension and insurance company Danica has reported a strong first quarter with pension contributions growing by 20 per cent year-on-year, largely thanks to new business and self-employed customers and sales through its owner company Danske Bank.

However, volatile financial markets had a negative impact on profits, Danica said.

The firm reported profits of DKK 162m (£18.8m) before tax and said it had faced challenges as a result of financial market turbulence and, in particular, geopolitical upheavals in the Middle East.

Danica CEO, Mads Kaagaard, commented: “I am pleased that Danica’s steady growth is continuing. It shows that customers are choosing to do business with us and that they remain loyal – even when the world is in turmoil, as we saw at the beginning of the year.

"I am also pleased that, together with Danske Bank, we are succeeding in getting closer to our customers. This creates significant value both for the individual customer and across the group.”

The report showed that sales through Danske Bank had doubled over the past three years.

However, Kaagaard said: “Our first quarter performance is not satisfactory, being affected in particular by significant financial market uncertainty which has fed through to our investment result.

"As a major financial institution, we cannot get around the fact that geopolitical turmoil, such as we have witnessed in the Middle East, does leave a mark on our investment result.”

“At Danica, we are very aware that periods of significant market volatility can induce some customers to want to adjust their risk profile. Generally, our recommendation is to stay calm.

"We are therefore very committed to providing strong advisory services, so that our customers are as resilient as possible – even when markets fluctuate,” added Kaagaard.

---