AXA reports growth across business lines for Q1 2015

AXA, global leader in insurance, recently released its first quarter 2015 Activity Indicators report as of May 6, 2015, highlighting a total revenue increase of 2% in a comparable basis, 10% on a reported basis growth from €28.5 billion to €31.5 billion across its business lines in Life & Savings, Property & Casualty, and Asset Management.

In the first quarter of 2015, Life & Savings revenue increased 2% to €17.5 billion from last year’s €15.8 billion. New Business Annual Premium Equivalent (APE) was also up 4% on a comparable basis, 14% on a reported basis to €1.9 billion, the difference resulting from strengthening of major currencies against the Euro. This 4% increase was mainly driven by the strong sales and new product launches for Protection & Health in Southeast Asia (including the Philippines), India and China.

Likewise, New Business Value (NBV) increased 1% to €0.6 billion. In high growth markets, APE increased by 33%, mainly due to Southeast Asia, India, China and Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Unit-Linked APE was also was up 2% due to the exceptional sale of several large contracts and the carryover of accelerated sales in anticipation of January 1, 2015 regulatory changes in Southeast Asia, India, China and Hong Kong.

Property & Casualty (or non-life insurance) revenues went up 2% from €10.4 billion to €11.4 billion, which was mainly driven by growth in both commercial and personal lines.

Asset management revenues were up 7% on a comparable basis, and up 23% on a reported basis, the difference resulting from the strengthening of major currencies against the Euro. The 7% increase was mainly driven by growth at both AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) and Alliance Bernstein (AB), due to higher management fees as a result of higher average assets under management.

Assets under management were at €1.2 trillion, up 13% from FY14 mainly driven by a favorable forex impact, market appreciation, as well as positive net flows at both AXA IM and AB. Average assets under management were at Euro €1.1 trillion, up 9% vs. 1Q14.

 “In Life & Savings, we maintained a good momentum in new business volume growth with sustained   high margins and increased net inflows. Our Property & Casualty revenues continued to grow, benefitting from both a strong performance in high growth markets and our leadership positions in mature markets. In Asset Management, we marked the tenth consecutive quarter of positive flows, highlighting the strength and consistent delivery of our asset managers,” said Denis Duverne, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of AXA Group.

“After this strong first quarter, we remain well positioned to successfully conclude our Ambition AXA plan in 2015. The strength of our balance sheet is once again illustrated by the resilience of our Economic Solvency ratio, in the context of historically low interest rates and high implied interest rate volatility,” Duverne adds.

“We continue our digital transformation, including investments in promising financial technology start-ups and through leveraging digital tools and connected devices, to better protect our clients. We remain committed to transform the company to become increasingly customer centric, thus creating lasting value for all our stakeholders,” he concludes.

AXA Philippines: Strong First Quarter

The phenomenal growth story is no different in the Philippines. AXA Philippines continues to be one of the largest and fastest growing life insurance companies in the country with its Q1 performance.

AXA’s first quarter sales or APE reached over P1 billion, a 36% increase from P829 million from the same period last year. Moreover, Gross Written Premiums amounted to P5.6 billion, a 60% increase from P3.5 billion in 2014. Majority of Gross Written Premiums were from single premium policies (accounting for 69%), an indicator of strong investor confidence capitalizing on the country’s bullish market performance in Q1.

While sales from regular premiums accounted for only 28% of total premiums, it grew by 23% compared to the same period last year, primarily due to the growth in sales of its new health insurance products launched in 2014, as well as the consistent growth of its investment-linked offers. Majority of AXA’ sales came from its bancassurance channel (68%) where its insurance products are sold through the nationwide network of Metrobank and PSBank branches. The traditional agency sales channel continued to grow its business, now contributing 32% of total new business sales.

Lastly, AXA’s total funds under management also increased by 29% to P72 billion, coming from P56 billion in Q1 2014.

“AXA’s Q1 exceptional performance at the global level and regional Asia level is not different from our bullish performance in the first quarter,” shares Rien Hermans, President & CEO of AXA Philippines. “We aim to keep the momentum of our strong first quarter performance into the rest of 2015, with major initiatives planned that will certainly redefine the way we do business.”

“We are proud to say that AXA Philippines intends to be a major contributor to the AXA business in Southeast Asia, across Asia, and across the Group’s business worldwide,” he concludes. ADVT