AXA's shares surge

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FE Team | Published: August 04, 2022 00:36:21

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PARIS, Aug 3 (Reuters): French insurer AXA announced a new share buyback programme as it posted a 3 per cent rise in first-half net profit, driving up its stock price.
AXA, Europe's second-biggest insurer behind Germany's Allianz , said it would buy back up to 1 billion euros ($1 billion) worth of its shares, echoing a similar buyback plan unveiled by rival Generali this week.
The buyback pleased analysts and caused AXA's shares to jump up by around 5 per cent in early session trading.
"We find ourselves pleasantly surprised today, not only by the launch of a new buyback, but by its size, as 1 billion euros is substantially larger than the 0.7 billion euros cash benefit AXA received by restructuring the holding company," wrote brokerage Jefferies, as it kept a 'buy' rating on AXA.
AXA's first half profits rose thanks to higher revenues from areas such as health insurance which outweighed the financial impact of the war in Ukraine.