AXA CEO: "Nobody Knows What The Second Half Will Be"
August 05 2009 - 6:03AM
Dow Jones News
The second half of 2009 is full of uncertainty, but French
insurance giant AXA SA (AXA) will be able to withstand a
deterioration of the economic environment, the company chief
executive said Wednesday.
"Nobody knows what the second half will be," CEO Henri de
Castries told a meeting with analysts, without elaborating.
Earlier Wednesday, the company reported a 39% drop in net profit
for the first half that was better than analyst expectations. At
that time, de Castries said AXA is well-placed to withstand a
further downturn and can quickly benefit from any economic
improvement. He repeated that confident sentiment to the analyst
meeting.
He hadn't earlier discussed the situation in second half of the
year.
Company Web site: www.axa.com
-By A.H. Mooradian, Dow Jones Newswires; +33 1 4017 1740;
art.mooradian@dowjones.com.