AIA Group profits jump 54%

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam Life) is upbeat about recent reports that AIA Group Ltd. has posted $2.7-billion in net profit, jumping 54 percent year on year in its 2010 audited consolidated financial results ending Nov. 30 last year.

In a press statement, Philam Life president and chief executive officer Trevor Bull said the success of the AIA Group speaks well of how dedicated its people are – its management team, staff, agents, and business partners in all the 15 member companies in the region, including Philam Life.

AIA Group Ltd., the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group in the world, also reported strong growth in value of new business (VONB), up 22 percent in 2010 to $667 million while its embedded value was up 18 percent to $21 billion and its operating profit before was also up 18 percent to $2.1 billion.

Shareholders’ equity went up to $19.6 billion and the company’s total assets increased to $107.9 billion from $90.7 billion.

AIA Group chief executive and president Mark Tucker said in a separate statement 2010 was “a very successful year” for the AIA Group.

“Our 2010 results are a significant improvement over 2009 on all key measures, with excellent growth in profitability, driven by a strong existing in-force book of business and a material uplift in new business growth, particularly in the fourth quarter,” Tucker said.

The AIA Group’s focus for 2011 will be on key strategic priorities that will deliver sustainable profitable growth and create value for shareholders. These include strengthening agency and partnership distribution channels, increasing their productivity, enhancing products and customer experience, and transforming the organization to be more nimble and customer-focused.

“We will pursue these growth opportunities with a strengthened leadership team, and more efficient organisational structure in place. As the only pan-Asian listed insurance group focused 100 percent on this fast-growing region, AIA is very well positioned to win,” he added.

In the group’s other markets (Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam), AIA delivered a strong VONB growth of 28 percent, demonstrating its strong position and diversified footprint across the region.