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