| Aviva Sales Drop 11% |
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04/11/2009 12:58 (16 Day 19:39 minutes ago) | |||||
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The FINANCIAL -- U.K. insurance giant Aviva on November 4 reported an 11-percent drop in the third quarter in worldwide sales.
Revenue from new business declined to 27.1 billion pounds ($44.6 billion) in the year to Sept. 30 from 30.4 billion pounds a year earlier, the London-based company said in a statement, according to Bloomberg. That missed the 27.6 billion-pound median estimate of three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Aviva is cutting jobs, merging units and selling part of its Dutch and Australian operations as it seeks to raise funds following a financial crisis that last year pushed the company to its first net loss in six years, the same source reported. To help offset slowing sales, the insurer is merging its U.K. general and life- insurance operations under British CEO Mark Hodges and last month unveiled a plan to run its European operations out of one holding company based in Dublin.
It also said its capital position remains strong, with surplus capital rising to GBP3.7 billion from GBP3.2 billion at end-June and from GBP1.9 billion in September last year, The Wall Street Journal informs. Chief Executive Andrew Moss said: "The outlook for the group's total profitability in 2009 is good despite a reduction in sales driven by continuing customer caution and active management of sales volumes to optimize profitability."
Aviva shares have fallen steeply in the first quarter but have since recovered to levels seen at the start of the year, according to the same source. Aviva's shares closed 2.6% lower Tuesday at 379 pence, giving the company a market capitalization of GBP10.21 billion.
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