AXA beats expectations with strong 2004 profits

These strong figures reflect its success in ironing out some of the difficulties that had been weighing down performance in recent years. Revenue for the period came in at 72.2 billion euros ($93.9 billion) compared with 71.6 billion euros a year earlier, the company said.

"2004 has been a very good year, with all businesses performing well and now on a path towards profitable growth" said Henri de Castries, CEO of the AXA Group.

"AXA teams have built a unique platform in terms of scale and diversification and our 2004 results provide additional proof of the effectiveness of our organization and strategy. All indicators are good. I am particularly pleased with our portfolio evolution: an increase of more than 500,000 new contracts in Property & Casualty, growth in Life new business and New Business Value, and strong net asset management inflows. All demonstrate the attractiveness of our product offering to our clients."

"As expected, our competitive product offering and the expansion of the distribution platform have contributed to our growth momentum in the fourth quarter of 2004," stated Didier Boussemart, CEO of AXA Gulf. "Our P&C and Asset Management revenues growth are in line with our long term targets, and we are particularly pleased with the strong Asset Management net inflows." Didier Boussemart added: "We have a solid platform to grow our business in the region and progress our strategies to make AXA Gulf the foremost international insurer, offering the most comprehensive range of products and services to our customers.

Earnings highlights included the following:

• 2004 underlying earnings up 34% to euro 2.7 billion
• Adjusted earnings doubled to euro 2.9 billion
• Proposed dividend of euro 0.61 per share up 61% compared to euro 0.38 last year
• Embedded value per share at euro 18.73, up 15%

In property and casualty, underlying earnings increased 41% to Euro 1,063 million, owing principally to an improvement of 2.1 points in the combined ratio to 99.3% and to higher net investment income. 2004 benefited from continued improvement in claims frequency in individual motor and a low level of large claims, especially in Property with the exception of Belgium and Germany. Additionally, the UK benefited from a strategic improvement in business mix with a decrease in volume of individual motor and development of the travel and creditor businesses.

The AXA Group is a worldwide leader in Financial Protection employing 117,000 people in more than 60 countries and providing protection to more than 50 million customers worldwide. The AXA Group is investing in the Gulf, to develop business in Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and in the UAE.