AXA unveils financials and plan to exit one bus

AXA unveils financials and plan to exit one bus | Insurance Business Asia

Insurance News

AXA unveils financials and plan to exit one bus

Group chief lifts the lid on strategic decision

Insurance News

By
Terry Gangcuangco

AXA has published its earnings report for the first half of 2024, revealing a strategic decision involving one of its business lines.

In the first six months, the Paris-headquartered insurance group posted the following results:

Metric

H1 2024

H1 2023

Property & casualty gross written premium & other revenues

€32.52 billion

€30.40 billion

Life & health GWP & other revenues

€26.51 billion

€24.53 billion

Asset management gross revenues

€787 million

€749 million

Total GWP & other revenues

€59.87 billion

€55.74 billion

Underlying earnings

€4.24 billion

€4.11 billion

Net income

€4.02 billion

€3.83 billion

Lifting the lid on the numbers, AXA chief executive Thomas Buberl said: “We have delivered strong growth across all lines of business, leveraging the attractive positioning of our franchise and a positive initial contribution from growth initiatives. P&C revenues were up 7%, with continued good demand, notably in commercial lines, and positive pricing dynamics across all lines.

“Life & health premiums were also up 7%, including targeted growth in employee benefits. The planned acquisition of Nobis announced today (August 1) is expected to further strengthen our P&C retail franchise in Italy, including the expansion of our distribution network, which is one of the key levers of our strategy.”

Buberl was referring to the deal to purchase Gruppo Nobis, which posted €35 million in net income last year. Meanwhile, in his comments, the CEO also cited the company’s plan to offload its asset management operations.

“We have taken a strategic decision to exit asset management with the intention to sell AXA Investment Managers to BNP Paribas,” Buberl said. “We intend to offset the resulting earnings dilution with a share buyback, and we are affirming the key financial targets of our new strategic plan. We further intend to enter into a long-term investment management agreement with BNP Paribas that would provide a wider range of investment solutions to AXA and its customers.”

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