| Ageas announces positive start to the year | |
| Insurance net profit of EUR 157 million (vs. a net profit of EUR 155 million) | Life net profit at EUR 108 million (vs. a net profit of EUR 126 million), mainly due to lower results in Belgium and Asia Non-Life & Other Insurance net profit at EUR 49 million (vs. a net profit of EUR 29 million), marked by strongly improved underwriting results in Household in Belgium and the UK Group inflows (at 100%) of EUR 6.8 billion, up 20%, driven by growth in Asia; § Life inflows at EUR 5.1 billion, +25% § Non-Life inflows at EUR 1.6 billion, +4% § Group inflows at Ageas's part of EUR 3.2 billion, up 10% Group combined ratio improved to 99.5% (vs.101.9%) Life Technical Liabilities of consolidated entities at EUR 69.5billion, nearly stable vs. end 2012 |
| Group net profit of EUR 293 million (vs. a net loss of EUR 84 million) | General Account net profit of EUR 136 million (vs. a net loss of EUR 239 million), mainly supported by the positive impact of the combined result of the disposal of the assets of Royal Park Investments (RPI) and the sale of the call option on BNP Paribas shares[1] (#_ftn1) |
| Shareholders' equity and solvency stable | Shareholders' equity at EUR 9.8 billion, EUR 42.74per share, vs. EUR 42.27[2] (#_ftn2) per share at the end of 2012 Insurance solvency at 203%; Group solvency ratio at 229%; General Account net cash position at the end of March of EUR 1.1 billion (an additional net amount of almost EUR 1 billion is expected as a result of the agreements with RPI and the Belgian State and the proposed distribution to shareholders) |
| CEO Bart De Smet said: " 2013 started well with first quarter net insurance result broadly in line with last year. Record quarterly inflows close to EUR 7 billion were fuelled in particular by strong sales in Asia. Ageas's part in inflows exceeded the EUR 3 billion mark for the first time. Inflows in Belgium held up reasonably well taken into account the lower guarantees offered and the negative impact of the higher tax rate applied to Life investment products. The decrease in sales of Guaranteed products was partly offset by higher sales in Group Life and Unit-linked products. Profit in the insurance business was overall good but especially encouraging in Non-Life. The Non-Life activities performed well with a combined ratio below 100% in a quarter that is traditionally impacted by the winter conditions. Life results slightly decreased due to lower investment margins in Belgium and higher acquisition costs in Asia. Finally we made important progress again in solving a number of legacies. We restructured our debt with the successful placement of new debt instruments by our Belgian and Hong Kong entities, the partial buy back of a hybrid instrument and the call of the NITSH II instrument. Recently, Royal Park Investments disposed its assets and we reached an agreement with the Belgian State on the sale of the call option on BNP Paribas shares that further reduces complexity and uncertainty and strengthens our net cash position. As a result of both of these transactions and our commitment to the European commission, an additional pay-out of EUR 1.00 per share will be proposed in the form of a capital reduction to our shareholders." | |
[1] (#_ftnref1) See press release of 27 April 2013
[2] (#_ftnref2) Restated for IAS 19 'Employee Benefits' adjustments
Pdf version press release (http://hugin.info/134212/R/1701900/562106.pdf)
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Source: Ageas via Thomson Reuters ONE
The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the
information contained therein.
Source: Ageas via Thomson Reuters ONE
HUG#1701900
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