Axa shares slide as earnings miss estimates
Insurance firm Axa has reported net income up 14 per cent in 2013 to €4.5bn.
Lower than expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who has forecast earnings of €4.96bn, the figure was negatively impacted by interest rates and foreign exchange hedging derivatives, the firm said.
Shares have fallen almost two per cent on the news this morning.
Axa increased its dividend by 13 per cent in 2013 to €0.81 per share.
Group annual net profits rose 10 per cent on the back of strong performance in its property and casualty division, wiping out weaker Asian trading.
Underlying earnings jumped 18 per cent to €19bn in the year.
Axa said it intends to up profitability through raising prices, higher-margin products and €1.7bn of cost cutting by 2015.
It’s also looking to increase its presence in emerging markets through acquisitions.
UK & Ireland business
Axa said profits in its UK weather division were dampened by storm claims, but it hasn’t yet seen an overflow. Moreover, these came at the back end of the year, with the first 11 months experiencing “particularly benign” weather.
Earnings rose 32 per cent to £178m in its UK and Ireland business, including g a 53 per cent rise in wealth management sales
Paul Evans, head of Axa UK and Ireland, said the firm's cost transformation is progressing ahead of expectations, with notable improvement in profitability across Commercial and Personal Lines, and the wealth management business.
Axa Wealth
The company’s wealth management arm, saw overall assets increased by 18 per cent from £21.6bn to £25.5bn in 2013.
Assets under management on the Wealth Elevate platform leapt 41 per cent to £7.5bn.
Mike Kellard, chief executive officer of AXA Wealth, said that growing confidence in the economy has given the firm a “strong basis from which to build”.
