Savvy deal-making boosts ASR Nederland annual profit, shares rise to all-time high

ASR Nederland NV

19/02/2025 08:55

** Shares of ASR Nederland  ASRNL.AS  rise 3.8% to an
all-time high, after Netherlands' second-biggest insurer
reported a jump of nearly 47% in annual operating profit,
significantly helped by the integration of its Aegon Nederland
business
    ** JP Morgan calls the results "robust", noting the company
operating result beat the broker's expectations by 2%
        ** It also highlights that organic capital creation
(OCC) came in 2% ahead of consensus, while Solvency II ratio was
also stronger-than-expected at 198%
  
    ** KBC Securities notes deal-making aided "strong
performance across the board", with the takeover of Aegon's
Dutch business in 2022 helping underlying performance and the
sale of Knap resulting in an excellent Solvency II ratio
    ** JPM sees consensus upgrades on the horizon with ASR on
track to beat its EUR 1.35 bln OOC guidance for FY26
    ** It says it would view any move by Aegon  AEGN.AS  to
start reducing its stake as "a potential positive catalyst" but
flags the timing is still uncertain

 (Reporting by Jakob Van Calster)
 ((Jakob.vancalster@thomsonreuters.com))