Ageas reports 1st quarter 2016 Results

• Belgian and Asian Life business driving growth of Inflows
• Strong operating performance in all segments
• Group net result reflecting impact of Fortis settlement agreement

All 3 months 2016 figures are compared to the 3 months 2015 figures unless otherwise stated.

Ageas CEO Bart De Smet said: "The first quarter of 2016 showed a solid performance in all segments, with the Asian and Belgium Life business driving the growth of Inflows. The Insurance net profit remained stable benefitting from higher realised capital gains on real estate. This was partly offset by the significant impact of the tragic terrorism events in Brussels and also by a weaker result in Life in Continental Europe.

Also in the first quarter we announced together with several claimants' organisations a settlement agreement for the civil Fortis legacies. The additional provision made for this settlement proposal impacted our General Account and consequently the Group net result.

In line with Ageas's strategy to focus on promising emerging markets in Asia and to shift its portfolio more towards Non-Life, we concluded, after closing of the first quarter, the divestment of the Life business in Hong Kong and the acquisition of AXA Portugal, positioning Ageas as the second largest insurer by inflows in the Portuguese market"