Impressive Financial Performance
Leading life insurer and asset manager Aegon has unveiled its financial outcomes for the latter half of 2024, showcasing a net profit of EUR 741 million and a significant 14% boost in its operating result, reaching EUR 776 million compared to the same timeframe the previous year. The company attributes this upward trajectory to enhanced experience variance in the US, coupled with business expansion in both the US and asset management sectors.
Stable Operating Capital Generation
Operating capital generation, prior to holding funding and operational costs, remained steady at EUR 658 million, mirroring the figures from the latter half of 2023. Aegon announced it fulfilled its heightened full-year expectation of EUR 1.2 billion for 2024. The primary operational units of Aegon maintain capital ratios exceeding requisite operational levels, and Cash Capital at Holding stood at EUR 1.7 billion by the end of 2024.
Shareholder Returns and Equity Growth
The completion of a EUR 200 million share buyback initiative in December further underscores Aegon’s robust financial health. Shareholders’ equity per share saw a rise of 13% to EUR 4.53 as of June 30, 2024, while the contractual service margin per share, post estimated tax adjustment, climbed by 5% to EUR 4.38.
Strategic Progress and Customer Experience Enhancement
Aegon’s CEO, Lard Friese, expressed satisfaction with the company’s progress, noting: “In 2024, we continued to advance our transformation and remain on track to achieve the 2025 targets set out at our 2023 Capital Markets Day (CMD). We have successfully met our enhanced guidance for operating capital generation (OCG) of EUR 1.2 billion, alongside our free cash flow target exceeding EUR 700 million for 2024. Our principal business units are well-capitalized, and we have attained a full-year IFRS operating result of EUR 1.5 billion. The valuation equity per share, a key measure of shareholder value, increased by 12% to EUR 8.91.”
Regional Highlights and Business Growth
Friese also emphasized the execution of Aegon’s growth strategy, improvements in customer service, and the deployment of a refreshed brand identity across fully owned units to enhance digital customer experiences in H2 2024.
In the Americas, the expansion of the World Financial Group’s (WFG) agent base drove a 22% increase in Transamerica’s distribution segment operating result, amounting to $191 million. While Transamerica’s Individual Life sales slightly decreased to $473 million, the Retirement Plans saw outflows, yet mid-sized plans experienced growth. Furthermore, Aegon reduced its Financial Assets exposure, including the early completion of its universal life policy repurchase initiative.
In the United Kingdom, the UK Workplace platform delivered robust performance with £3.7 billion in net deposits, and efforts are underway to restructure the Adviser platform for growth by 2028. Asset Management returned to growth with third-party net deposits in Global Platforms and Strategic Partnerships combined reaching approximately EUR 14 billion. The international business reported 15% lower new life sales, but the value of new business surged by 18%, primarily driven by Brazil and Spain & Portugal.
Future Outlook and Dividends
Concluding his remarks, Friese stated: “Throughout the year, we maintained disciplined capital management. In the first half of 2024, we completed the EUR 1.535 billion share buyback program. In the second half, we finalized a EUR 200 million share buyback effort and announced a new EUR 150 million share buyback program, which commenced in January 2025.”
“Based on our 2024 performance, we propose a final dividend of 19 eurocents per share. This brings the full-year 2024 total dividend to 35 eurocents, marking a 17% increase compared to 2023, steering us towards our goal of approximately 40 eurocents per share by 2025.”
