Aegon Returns to Net Profit in Third Quarter, Shares Up 8%

By Maarten van Tartwijk

AMSTERDAM--Insurance company Aegon NV Thursday said it returned to a net profit in the third quarter as its results were buoyed in part by investment gains, sending its shares higher.

The Dutch owner of U.S. insurer Transamerica said net profit was 358 million euros ($396 million) in the three months to the end of September, up from a net loss of EUR551 million a year earlier when new actuarial assumptions on life expectancy and other items hit earnings.

Shares in Aegon rallied after the Amsterdam stock market opened, trading up 8%.

Underlying pretax profit, which strips out exceptional items, fell 7% to EUR461 million as cost-savings and higher stock markets were offset by higher-than-expected claims in the U.S.

Overall sales rose 13% to EUR2.9 billion, which Aegon attributed to the strong performance of its fee business. New life insurance sales, however, declined by 15% to EUR219 million.

Write to Maarten van Tartwijk at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 10, 2016 03:47 ET (08:47 GMT)

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