Ageas reports Full Year 2017 results

Record Insurance net result of EUR 960 million
Proposed gross cash dividend of EUR 2.10

   All 12-month 2017 figures are compared to the 12-month 2016 figures unless otherwise stated.

Ageas CEO Bart De Smet said: "We are very pleased to announce our 2017 results, the best in our history. A strong operating performance in Belgium, Continental Europe and Asia, and progress made in the UK, despite continuing impact from the Ogden rate changes, all contributed to our performance.

Based on these results and confident in our capacity to generate cash, we will propose to our shareholders a gross cash dividend of EUR 2.10 per share. This represents a pay-out ratio of 42% of the net Insurance result and an increase of 24% compared to the 2016 dividend of EUR 1.70, excluding the exceptional EUR 0.40 related to the Hong Kong divestment.

I am very pleased that our continuous focus and persistence resulted in the achievement of our financial targets in 2017. I am also optimistic that we will confirm this achievement in the last year of our Ambition 2018 cycle. In the meantime, we are preparing our strategic plan for the period 2019-2021 and will present this after the summer."