By Helena Smolak


Axa launched new key financial targets for 2024-26 alongside a share buyback and raised its dividend on increased full-year net profit, boosted by higher underlying earnings and net realized capital gains.

The French insurer said Thursday that it now guides for an underlying earnings per share compounded annual growth rate between 6% and 8%, underlying return on equity between 14% and 16% and more than EUR21 billion in cumulative organic cash upstream in 2024 to 2026. Axa said it delivered on four of its financial targets for 2020-2023, out of which it exceeded in three.

Its underlying earnings growth forecast should be driven by strong operating performance across its lines of business and recovery in UK Health and margin improvement in P&C Retail.

Its 2023 net profit rose to 7.19 billion euros ($7.78 billion) from EUR5.06 billion in 2022, a figure that was restated after a change in accounting standards adopted on Jan. 1.

Axa's net profit missed analysts' expectations of EUR7.46 billion, according to a consensus provided by Factset.

Underlying earnings rose to EUR7.6 billion from EUR6.08 billion, buoyed by a strong operational performance in its property-and-casualty business and fully-owned American subsidiary AXA XL, the company said.

Gross revenues climbed 3% to EUR102.74 billion, driven by its property-and-casualty segment, although this was partly offset by tumbling reinsurance revenue as the company pursued its strategy of reducing its natural-catastrophe exposure.

The Paris-based company launched a share-buyback program of up to EUR1.6 billion and declared a dividend of EUR1.98 per share, up 16% on year.


Write to Helena Smolak at helena.smolak@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-22-24 0153ET