(Reuters) -Aegon raised its predictions for full-year operating cash flow and free cash flow for 2021–2023 on Thursday because the insurance company’s second-quarter operating result of 538 million euros was better than what analysts had expected.
The Dutch insurance company, which does a lot of business in the United States, was given a consensus estimate of 486 million euros ($499 million) on average.
Lard Friese, the CEO of Aegon (NYSE: AEG), said in a statement that the first half of 2022 was one of the most difficult times for investors. Stock markets had their worst start to the year in more than 50 years.
Friese said that Aegon’s operating result “reflects the fading effect of COVID-19 and the progress we are making on our operational improvement plan, which helped offset the effect of lower equity markets.”
But the group ended up with a net loss of 348 million euros because of a one-time charge related to rising U.S. reinsurance rates. This was more than the average loss prediction of 129 million euros.
Since becoming CEO, Friese has been trying to end years of poor performance by cutting costs, hedging risks, and getting rid of small or volatile businesses.
Aegon thinks that it will make about 1.4 billion euros in operating capital in 2022, compared to about 1.2 billion euros before. It also said it expected to have a cumulative free cash flow of at least 2.2 billion euros from 2021 to 2023. This is a lot more than its previous goal of 1.4 to 1.6 billion euros.
Aegon sold its Hungarian business earlier this year and said it planned to sell its 50% share in its joint venture with Liberbank. The company is now looking into a deal to get rid of its capital-intensive U.S. variable annuity portfolio.
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