Aegon has announced its results for the first half of 2024, showing a net loss of €65 million.

The Company’s operating result decreased by 8% compared to the first half of 2023, to EUR 750 million, primarily due to the unfavorable mortality experience related to US financial assets and the impact of assumption updates.

Shareholders’ equity per share decreased by 6% compared to December 31, 2023, to €4.02, while the contractual service margin (CSM) per share, after estimated tax adjustment, increased by 14% to €4.17.

In terms of capital management, Aegon’s operating capital before retention financing and operating expenses decreased by 5% to €588 million, reflecting the difficult mortality experience in the US.

Despite the net loss, the company said it remains on track to meet its 2024 guidance. Capital ratios for Aegon’s key units also rose and continue to remain above their operating levels.

Cash capital at the holding level remained above the operating range at €2.1 billion. Aegon completed a €1.535 billion share buyback programme in June 2024 and initiated a new €200 million share buyback programme in July, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2024.

Free cash flow amounted to EUR 373 million, which includes the final dividend for 2023 from ASR. The interim dividend for 2024 was set at EUR 0.16 per ordinary share, an increase of EUR 0.02 compared to the interim dividend for 2023.

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Aegon CEO, Lard Freese, highlighted the company’s progress in executing its strategy to establish itself as a leading provider of investment, protection and retirement solutions. This progress was reflected in continued strong sales growth across Aegon’s strategic assets in the US, further expansion of the workplace platform in the UK, growth in Brazil and strong net deposits in the asset management business.

Freese also noted a decline in capital employed in US financial assets, down $0.4 billion, keeping the company on track to reduce this to €2.2 billion by the end of 2027.

While the adverse mortality experience in the US negatively impacted both IFRS results and operating capital generation, Frese said the company remains on track to meet its 2024 operating capital generation guidance of €1.1 billion. The company expects the assumption updates to help reduce IFRS claims experience differences and improve operating results.

The capital ratios of Aegon’s US and UK business units rose to 446% and 189% respectively, and cash holdings remained above operating range at €2.1 billion.

How has Aegon performed in the US and other markets?

In the U.S., Transamerica saw a 5% increase in new individual life insurance sales, to $245 million. World Financial Group’s sales force grew 13% to nearly 79,000 licensed agents. Net deposits from mid-sized retirement plans rose to $1.2 billion, contributing to a 12% increase in strategic asset sales in the U.S.

In the UK, Aegon’s workplace platform saw net deposits increase to £1.7bn due to continued consolidation of new schemes and increased net deposits into existing schemes. However, the Adviser platform saw net outflows of £1.8bn, reflecting lower client activity due to the macroeconomic environment and consolidation in non-target advisor sectors.

Aegon’s global asset management business reported strong trading results, with net third-party deposits across global platforms and strategic partnerships totalling nearly €8 billion, reflecting the outflows seen in the previous year.

In Brazil, Mongeral Aegon Group, Aegon’s joint venture, continued to grow with life sales up 9% to €64 million, driven by an increase in Aegon’s economic share and continued commercial growth in both group and individual products.

These results provided the basis for Aegon to raise its interim dividend to 16 euro cents per share, an increase of 2 euro cents over its 2023 interim dividend. The company also completed a share buyback of 1.535 billion euros related to the transaction with ASR and initiated a new share buyback of 200 million euros in the fourth quarter.

“I am grateful to the teams for what they have achieved in the first half of the year, and we will build on this momentum in the second half as we continue to execute our strategy,” said Freeze.

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