AXA: net profit 2019 up 80% despite a challenging economic environment

The AXA Group reported a turnover of 103.53 billion EUR (115.973 billion USD) in 2019, up 1% compared to 2018. The net profit grew by 80% to 3.86 billion EUR (4.32 billion USD).

Despite this performance, Europe's second largest insurer remains penalised by the increase in natural disasters and by the reorganization of its structures that began four years ago. To strengthen its profitability, AXA has been focusing since 2016 on specific classes such as property and casualty (P&C) insurance, pension and health insurance.

It parted way with the least profitable activities and strengthened its presence in emerging countries. It ceded, hence, its American life insurance subsidiary Equitable Holdings and acquired AXA Tianping, its P&C insurance joint venture in China. In 2020, it will complete the sale of its bank in Belgium and cease its activities in Central and Eastern Europe.

Purchased in 2018 for 12 billion EUR (13.725 billion USD), AXA XL, a division dedicated to corporate P&C insurance and to reinsurance, is struggling to take off. It is impacted by the resurgence of natural disasters amounting to an extra cost of 300 million EUR (343.138 million USD), according to November 2019 figures. Its combined ratio exceeded 101% at the end of the past year.

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