AXA investment earnings fall
AXA Asia Pacific Holdingsreleased its year end results today, projecting a strong outlook for future growth, despite a drop in investment earnings.
AXA chief executive Les Owen outlined the results, which were for the 15 months ending December 31, 2001.
The profit after tax and before non-recurring items was $366 million, compared with $318 million for the 12 months to September 30, 2000.
“Reflecting the turbulent events around the world and their effect on world stock markets, our investment earnings fell. Investment earnings in Australia and New Zealand were $63 million and in AXA China Region $56 million. Both down on the same period last year,” Owens says.
The group’s operating earnings after tax grew, with the profits from the life, health, superannuation and investment products reaching $398 million in the 15 months compared with $239 million for the previous 12 month period.
The AXA master trust, SUMMIT, also received strong cash inflows with growth taking funds under management in administration advice to $43 billion at the end of 2001, up 26 per cent since September 2000. However Owens says continued growth remains one of the group’s key strategic focuses.
“We have, in recent years, not seen the growth in new fund inflows that are necessary to ensure that we remain a major player. Indeed improving retail new fund flows is one of our strategic imperatives,” he says.
The AXA adviser business, comprising 1100 advisers, increased productivity by 15 per cent in the year, and the group maintains a target to grow this by a further 25 per cent in the next two years.
Owens says the acquisition last December of Sterling Grace, an advisery business known as Spicers in New Zealand andMonitor Moneyin Australia, has helped the group increase its penetration of the non-aligned dealership sector.
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