AXA reports strong underlying results in 2012

PARIS (AFP) – French insurance group AXA reported a 1.0-per-cent slip in net profits for 2012 on Thursday despite a sharp rise in profitability.

But results for 2011 had been boosted by big exceptional capital gains, which skewed the comparison with the results for 2012.

Net profit last year amounted to 4.15 billion euros ($5.5 billion), short of the figure of 4.6 billion euros broadly expected by analysts in their broker notes.

Excluding the impact of capital gains in 2011 and 2012, net profit rose by 13.0 per cent to 4.25 billion euros.

Sales rose by 5.0 per cent to 90.1 billion euros.

The margin on new life assurance business, savings and pension plans rose from 25.0 per cent to 31.0 per cent.

Sales in France rose by 1.0 per cent and were steady in northern, central and eastern Europe.

In the Asia-Pacific region, sales rose by 12.0 per cent, and notably by 17.0 per cent in Japan and 18.0 per cent in Hong Kong.

Group finance director Gerald Harlin said: “We are satisfied with this trend (of group results). It is fully in line with our strategy of selective growth. We have managed to achieve both growth and profitability.”