Aegon: earnings hit by market movements, charges
(CercleFinance.com) - Dutch insurer Aegon missed its earnings estimate for the second half of its financial year, saying that "unfavorable market movements" were partly to blame.
Second-half net income therefore collapsed to 253 million euros, from 1.4 billion euros a year ago, also hit by an increase in charges.
These charges were mainly driven by the settlement of class action litigation for its life reinsurance business in the US, coupled with restructuring costs in the UK and the US, the group said.
However, Aegon said it would raise its dividend to shareholders, based on its strong capital position. It will propose a final 2018 dividend of 0.15 euro per share, up 2 cents from 2017.
However, this plan has failed to cheer analysts.
"New dividend targets are positive but appear in-line with our expectations," said analysts at UBS.
The shares were down 5.1% after the report.
Copyright (c) 2019 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
Second-half net income therefore collapsed to 253 million euros, from 1.4 billion euros a year ago, also hit by an increase in charges.
These charges were mainly driven by the settlement of class action litigation for its life reinsurance business in the US, coupled with restructuring costs in the UK and the US, the group said.
However, Aegon said it would raise its dividend to shareholders, based on its strong capital position. It will propose a final 2018 dividend of 0.15 euro per share, up 2 cents from 2017.
However, this plan has failed to cheer analysts.
"New dividend targets are positive but appear in-line with our expectations," said analysts at UBS.
The shares were down 5.1% after the report.
Copyright (c) 2019 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.