AXA 2021 Revenue, Profit Rose on Rebound From Pandemic

By Ed Frankl

AXA SA said Thursday that 2021 gross revenues and profit topped expectations, as it rebounded from a pandemic-hit prior year, with earnings driven by its U.S.-based AXA XL business.

The French insurer posted net profit of 7.29 billion euros ($8.26 billion), more than doubling 2020's figure of EUR3.16 billion, which was strongly affected by Covid-19 losses.

Gross revenues at the Paris-based company were EUR99.93 billion, up 3% on year, with Property & Casualty revenues ahead by 3%, Life & Savings rising 9%, and Asset Management up 20% on 2020.

The results were ahead of expectations of EUR6.96 billion for net profit and EUR99.78 billion for gross revenues, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Underlying earnings at AXA XL, the U.S. division AXA took over in 2018, swung to a profit of EUR1.17 billion, after the company targeted earnings of EUR1.2 billion.

The company's Solvency II ratio--a measure of an insurer's financial strength--was 217%, up 17 percentage points versus 2020.

AXA said it would start a new share-buyback program immediately, worth up to EUR500 million, to neutralize earnings from recent disposals. It comes shortly after it completed on Feb. 10 a EUR1.7 billion buyback program that began in November.

It also proposed a dividend of EUR1.54, up 8% on year.

Write to Ed Frankl at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 24, 2022 01:29 ET (06:29 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.