Axa 1st Half Net Profit -39%, But Beats Expectations
August 05 2009 - 1:41AM
Dow Jones News
French insurer Axa SA (AXA) Wednesday said first-half net profit
dropped 39%, hurt by weaker earnings across its three main
divisions, but still beat market expectations.
The company said it remains ready to ride out any further market
turburlence.
Net profit for the six months ended June 30 decreased to EUR1.32
billion from EUR2.16 billion a year earlier, significantly above an
average EUR592 million forecast by a Dow Jones survey of nine
analysts.
Revenue fell 1.8% to EUR48.41 billion from EUR49.32 billion a
year ago, slightly beating the EUR47.9 billion forecast by
analysts.
"We are prepared to withstand a further possible market downturn
and we are well positioned to benefit from a market upturn," Chief
Executive Henri de Castries said in a statement.
The group said its Solvency 1 ratio reached 133% at the end of
June, up from 127% at the end of December.
Axa shares closed Tuesday up 0.7%, or EUR0.11, at EUR15.31,
slightly outperforming the Stoxx 600 European insurance index.
Company Web site: www.axa.com
-By Jethro Mullen, Dow Jones Newswires; 33 1 4017 1738;
jethro.mullen@dowjones.com