PARIS (Reuters) -French insurer AXA announced a new share buyback programme as it posted a 3% rise in first-half net profit, thanks to higher revenues from areas such as health insurance which outweighed the financial impact of the war in Ukraine.
AXA, Europe’s second-biggest insurer behind Germany’s Allianz, earned 4.1 billion euros ($4.2 billion) compared to 3.99 billion a year earlier.
AXA added it would start a new programme to buy back up to 1 billion euros worth of its shares, echoing a similar buyback plan unveiled by Italian rival Generali this week.
The global insurance industry faces hefty claims as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but AXA expressed confidence over meeting its 2023 strategic growth targets.
“We are very confident in our ability to reach the big targets of our ‘driving progress 2023’ strategic plans,” said deputy chief executive Frédéric de Courtois.
($1 = 0.9815 euros)
(Reporting by Matthieu Protard;Writing by GV De Clercq;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
