AXA consolidated revenues up 5.3%

AXA reported yesterday that consolidated revenues for the first nine months of 2002 rose 5.3% to Euro 56.9 billion compared to the same period last year.

Highlights
. Life & Savings revenues, which represent 64% of total revenues, increased 5.8% from the same period last year to Euro 36.3 billion, boosted by a 10.2% growth in the third quarter, with significant improvements in the US and Japan.
· Property & Casualty revenues, which represent 22% of total revenues, were Euro 12.5 billion, up 5.1% from the same period last year, resulting from strong rate increases in all major European countries combined with stricter underwriting.
· Due to weak financial markets, Asset Management fees, which represent 5% of total revenues, declined by 4.0% to Euro 2.6 billion. Overall, the Group´s asset managers collected Euro 3 billion in net new money in the first nine months of 2002.
· International Insurance revenues, which represent 8% of total revenues, were Euro 4.8 billion, up 9.8%, driven by selective underwriting and significantly higher premium rates.

'Revenue growth accelerated in the third quarter of 2002 in our major operations, demonstrating the underlying strength of our businesses and the success of our focused strategy' said AXA CEO Henri de Castries. 'The introduction of new products and the adaptability of our salesforce have enabled the Group to efficiently face a difficult economic environment. The fundamentals of our industry are intact, and it is one of the few industries to enjoy a growing customer base, an increased demand for financial protection products, and a positive pricing cycle in non-Life. The Group is benefiting from this, as demonstrated by the growth in Life & Savings and Property & Casualty revenues of 10% and 6%, respectively, in the third quarter of 2002.'

'As stated in our half year earnings release, we confirm that we should achieve our expected cost savings and improvement in our combined ratio in 2002. As stated on September 2nd and then confirmed by the sharp downturn of financial markets in the third quarter of 2002, market volatility is such that we cannot predict operating performances for our Life & Savings and Asset Management operations, even if they have proven to be resilient in the first half of 2002. Overall, we remain cautious on 2002 operating earnings growth.'

For more information please visit www.axa.com.

(source: AXA)

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