AXA surprises by more than doubling first-half profit; renews CEO's term

Profit and revenues soared at global insurer  AXA in the first half of 2021 driven by strong growth in all lines of business and geographies. The group's chairman credited chief executive Thomas Buberl (pictured) for its "profound transformation" in the face of a crisis, and proposed renewal of his contract for another four-year term. Meanwhile, Buberl expressed a bullish view on achieving its earnings target of €1.2 billion in 2021, taking advantage of the continued favorable pricing momentum and good underwriting.

The group made a net profit of almost €4 billion in H1 2021, an impressive increase of 180 percent on a profit of €1.43 billion reported in the prior year period.

Total revenues came in at €54 billion in the first half, up 3 percent from €52.4 billion in H1 2020. Property/casualty commercial lines revenues increased by 6 percent to €18.7 billion, and personal lines by 1 percent to €9.3 billion. Life and savings revenues increased by 12 percent at €16.9 billion, and health by 3 percent to €7.9 billion.

The combined ratio for property and casualty improved 8.3 points to 93.3 percent.

At AXA XL, price increases on renewals remained strong in the first half, +15 percent in insurance and +10 percent in

reinsurance.

Buberl said: " AXA achieved an excellent performance in the first half of 2021. Revenues and underlying earnings grew strongly across the Group, in all geographies and business lines.

Revenues were up 7%, reflecting strong business dynamics underpinned by P&C Commercial lines, up 6%, and by a strong growth in Life & Savings with a high-quality business mix. In Asset Management, AXA IM continued to perform very well in both Core and Alts platforms."

"This strong result was achieved across all our markets, and notably at AXA XL with very good underwriting performance," he added. "Taking advantage of the continued favorable pricing momentum, AXA XL is well positioned to deliver its Euro 1.2 billion earnings target in 2021 and sustainable and profitable growth beyond."

The company stated that the renewal of Buberl's mandate as a director, for a period of four years, will be proposed to AXA’s shareholders at their next Annual General Meeting in April 2022.

Denis Duverne, chairman of AXA's board of directors said: "The profound transformation of AXA led by Thomas Buberl and all the teams has enabled the Group to face an unprecedented health and economic crisis, to be very well positioned to respond to the new challenges of the insurance industry and to accelerate its development by relying on its great solidity, as shown by the recent excellent half-year results.

"Fully confident in the Group's future, the Board of Directors has unanimously decided, as proposed by the Compensation and Governance Committee chaired by Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, to confirm Thomas Buberl's renewal as Chief Executive Officer. The Board counts on him to successfully implement its strategic plan 'Driving Progress 2023', to seize growth opportunities that will enable AXA to respond to the evolving needs of clients and society, and to pursue the Group's transformation over the longer term."

Buberl commented: "I would like to thank the Board of Directors for the confidence it has placed in me. The decision to propose the renewal of my mandate as Chief Executive Officer of AXA is a tribute to the hard work and commitment of all the Group's employees and confirms the relevance of the strategic choices we've made over the past few years to prepare AXA for the new challenges ahead. On a personal level, I feel proud of what we have achieved together and am grateful to have the opportunity to continue leading this unique company over the coming years and to write a new page in its journey."

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