Ageas reports 6M 2018 result

• Major milestones reached
• Operational performance on track

All 6M 2018 figures are compared to the 6M 2017 figures unless otherwise stated.

Ageas CEO Bart De Smet said: "Over the past six months we have achieved major milestones that will shape the future of Ageas. The Fortis settlement has been declared binding, the put option granted to BNP Fortis Bank expired, and the Group received authorisation from the regulator to operate reinsurance activities. As for the business, we witnessed a commercial turnaround in Asia in particular in China, a return to growth in Life inflows and an outperformance of the market in Non-Life in Belgium, the integration of Portugal on schedule, and a good recovery in the UK. The solid Non-Life operating performance across all businesses and a very strong Life result allowed us to deliver a strong insurance net result. The Group's solid financial position and our confidence in our capital generating capacity, led to the decision by the Ageas Board of Directors to continue the buy-back of shares through a new programme of EUR 200 million."