AXA first-half net profit slids 14pc

Paris: Restructuring charges at AXA, one of the world’s leading insurance firms, helped depress net profits in the first half of the year although on an operating basis its performance improved. Over the first six months of the year net profits slid 14 per cent to 2.8 billion euros ($3.3 billion), which was slightly below the average figure forecast by analysts surveyed by financial data firm Factset. The drop was primarily due to exceptional items, in particular a charge of 340 million euros at its Swiss group life business. — AFP