The gross revenue of AXA increased 4% to £53.09bn compared with the same period in 2018
AXA Italian headquarters in Milan (Image credit: Kokky92/Wikipedia.org)
AXA reported a 17% drop in its net income for the first half of 2019 (1H19) on a reported basis at €2.33bn (£2.13bn) compared with €2.79bn (£2.56bn) from the same period in the previous year.
The net income per share of the French insurance major came down 18% to €0.92 (£0.84) in the reported period, compared with €1.12 (£1.03) in 1H18.
AXA’s gross revenue moved up by 4% to €57.94bn (£53.09bn) compared with the same period in 2018.
The insurance giant’s underlying earnings moved up by 7% to €3.62bn (£3.32bn) in the reported period compared with the previous year’s €3.29bn (£3.01bn).
The French insurer attributed this to the continued strong operational performance in France, Europe, international, Asia and Transversal, which was primarily due to higher technical profits apart from contribution from AXA XL.
Segment wise revenues of AXA in 1H19
The revenues of P&C commercial lines moved up by 6% on a comparable basis to €27.96bn (£25.62bn), driven by AXA XL’s performance, higher revenues in Europe, and strong growth in international business.
Life and savings business had its revenues surge 4% to €21.28bn (£19.5bn), while the health unit’s gross revenues were up by 5% to €7.2bn (£6.6bn) in 1H19. The French company said the health unit saw growth in all regions, particularly in France, Mexico, and Germany.
AXA XL, which was created after the $15.3bn (£12.62bn) merger between the French insurer and XL Group, saw a 9% increase in its total revenues to €10.4bn (£9.53bn).
The firm’s CEO Thomas Buberl said: “AXA continued to deliver strong operating performance, with a +4% growth in revenues and a +10% increase in underlying earnings per share in the first half of 2019.
“AXA’s earnings benefitted from a virtuous double dynamic, both growing volumes and improving profitability across all our geographies and preferred segments.
“AXA XL had a great first half with continued and disciplined growth in revenues and a solid contribution to the Group’s earnings. Synergies are materializing well, and AXA XL should benefit from the increasingly positive pricing context.”