CEE and Asian markets boosted AEGON's new-business
In the first quarter of 2011, the new-business volume registered by the Dutch group AEGON on the life insurance segment was EUR 501 million with higher sales in the New markets (Central and Eastern European and Asia) and the Netherlands, offset by less favorable evolutions in the UK. The Dutch insurer ended the first three months of 2011 with total sales worth EUR 1.41 billion, with a slight decrease compared to the similar period of last year, when sales amounted to EUR 1.44 billion.
"We were particularly pleased by the strong new life sales achieved by AEGON's newer businesses in Central and Eastern Europe and Asia. Over time, these key growth regions, in addition to Latin America, will enable us to achieve a broader geographical balance given the substantial opportunity they present", said Alex WYNAENDTS, CEO, AEGON Group.
The company registered a net income of EUR 327 million, 12% below the EUR 372 million registered in 1stQ/2010, supported by lower impairments (EUR 62 million) and higher earnings from run-off businesses. In the analyzed period, underlying earnings before tax were EUR 414 million, supported by strong earning from US pensions and variable annuities, offset by exceptional charges in the UK (EUR 24 million) and higher provisioning for longevity in the Netherlands (EUR 24 million).
AEGON expects the changes in the pension legislation in Hungary and Poland, as well as the divestment of its life reinsurance business TRANSAMERICA Reinsurance to have a negative impact on underlying earnings in 2011.
AEGON N.V. is the second biggest insurance company in the Netherlands. As an international life insurance, pension and asset management company based in The Hague, AEGON has businesses in over twenty markets in the Americas, Europe and Asia. AEGON companies employ 27,000 people and have some 40 million customers across the globe.
AEGON's ambition is to become a leader in all its chosen markets by 2015, based on three strategic priorities: to reallocate capital to areas that offer strong growth prospects and higher return, to increase returns from the company's existing businesses and to optimize ONE AEGON concept by increasing efficiency and making better use of the company's global resources.
In the first quarter of 2011, the new-business volume registered by the Dutch group AEGON on the life insurance segment was EUR 501 million with higher sales in the New markets (Central and Eastern European and Asia) and the Netherlands, offset by less favorable evolutions in the UK. The Dutch insurer ended the first three months of 2011 with total sales worth EUR 1.41 billion, with a slight decrease compared to the similar period of last year, when sales amounted to EUR 1.44 billion.