Underlying earnings before tax amount to EUR 486 million
•Underlying earnings impacted by lower earnings in US
•Net income increases to EUR 478 million, driven by net recoveries and lower fair value losses
•Return on equity of 8.3%

Record sales driven by fee-based deposit businesses
• Strong growth in asset management drives gross deposits up 63% to EUR 22.3 billion; net deposits increase to EUR 2.8 billion
•New life insurance sales decline 16% to EUR 440 million driven by all markets
•Accident & health and general insurance sales up 5% to EUR 238 million
•Market consistent value of new business of EUR 149 million impacted by low interest rates

Returning capital to shareholders
•Operational free cash flows excluding market impacts and one-time items of EUR 377 million
•Holding excess capital of EUR 1.4 billion and a gross leverage ratio of 27.0%
•Solvency II ratio per year-end 2015 at ~160% and final 2015 dividend increase to EUR 0.13 reaffirmed
•EUR 400 million share buyback program on track – repurchased EUR 101 million since program start

Aegon's fourth quarter results close a year in which we achieved record sales and accomplished many of our strategic objectives...

Alex Wynaendts
Aegon CEO "Aegon's fourth quarter results close a year in which we achieved record sales and accomplished many of our strategic objectives, although expectations for underlying earnings were not met in all of our businesses.

"The strong growth in revenue-generating assets this quarter, which now exceed 700 billion euros for the first time, reflects our focus to further expand our fee businesses.

"I'm proud of the excellent work our dedicated employees do for Aegon's 30 million customers worldwide. In order to get even closer to our customers, and become a more agile and efficient organization, we are accelerating our digital transformation.

"One of our key financial ambitions is to reduce costs, and we are well on track to realize savings – particularly in the US.

"The recent market volatility, fuelled by uncertainty about economic growth, once again demonstrates the challenging environment in which we operate.

"I'm pleased that our strong capital position enables us to return capital to shareholders through an increased final dividend and a share buyback program.

"Looking ahead, by successfully executing on our strategy we will be able to deliver on our purpose and help many more people achieve a lifetime of financial security, in addition to generating long-term value for all our stakeholders."


Strategic Highlights



• Strategy update and financial targets for 2018 presented at recent investor day
•Dutch commercial line non-life business sold to Allianz
•Center of Excellence for Digital launched to share expertise across the organization
•Aegon N.V. and Aegon Bank N.V. announce that the Netherlands is their Home Member State for purposes of the EU Transparency Directive

Strategy update

In January, Aegon provided the market with a strategy update and 2018 financial targets at its Analyst & Investor Conference in London, which included the announcement of a number of significant measures to improve operational performance. The company is targeting a group return on equity of 10% by 2018, which is supported by:
•Reducing annual operating expenses by EUR 200 million by the end of 2018
•Additional investments in digital capabilities and expertise of EUR 50 million per annum above the current level to further support the organic growth of the business

Aegon's solid capital position and free cash flow generation provide the foundation to accelerate capital returns to shareholders. The main announcements on Aegon's ambitions for capital and cashflow for the 2016-2018 period were:
•Group Solvency II ratio as of December 31, 2015, of ~160%
•Regulatory approval received to use the partial internal model to calculate Solvency II capital
•Cumulative free cash flows after holding expenses of EUR 3.3 billion until 2018. Dutch and UK operations expected to resume dividend payments in 2016 and 2017 respectively
•Capital returns to shareholders of over EUR 2 billion in the period 2016-2018; Dividend pay-out ratio of 50% of free cash flows; EUR 400 million share buyback; Proposal to increase the 2015 final dividend per share to EUR 0.13, bringing the total 2015 dividend per share to EUR 0.25, a 9% increase over the 2014 dividend

Aegon's ambition is to be a trusted partner for financial solutions at every stage of life, and to be recognized by its customers, business partners and society as a company that puts the interests of its customers first in everything it does. In addition, Aegon wants to be regarded by its employees as an employer of choice, engaging and enabling them to succeed. This ambition is supported by four strategic objectives embedded in all Aegon businesses: Optimized portfolio, Operational excellence, Customer loyalty, and Empowered employees.

Optimized portfolio

In January, Aegon announced the sale to Allianz of its Dutch commercial line non-life business, which includes its proxy and co-insurance run-off portfolios. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016, and follows the announcement last year that these activities are no longer strategically core to the company's non-life business.
Aegon will continue to invest in income protection and retail non-life insurance.

Transamerica completed the acquisition of Mercer's US defined contribution (DC) record-keeping business on December 31, 2015. In addition, as part of an ongoing partnership with Mercer, Transamerica is now the preferred DC administration provider for Mercer's total benefit and total retirement outsourcing offerings. Transamerica has become a top 10 defined contribution plan provider, helping 4.7 million participants save and invest for their retirement.

On December 7, 2015, Aegon increased its stake in its Indian joint venture Aegon Life, a leader in the online life insurance market in India, from 26% to 49%. This follows last year's revision to India's insurance laws that enables foreign companies to own up to 49% of an Indian insurance company. Aegon Life's innovative internet platform provides customers with a convenient and valuable option to research, review and purchase online protection and savings products.

On February 16, Aegon signed an agreement with the Czech online comparison website Chytry Honza. In line with one of Aegon's strategic priorities to increase its digital capabilities and expertise, the business partnership will focus on digital services for customers who seek an independent comparison of insurance products. Aegon will leverage on Chytry Honza's online technological platform capabilities, multi-channel financial product distribution and digital know-how.

Operational excellence

In line with Aegon's strategy to increase operational efficiency, Aegon will insource the administration of its new Premie Pensioen Instelling (PPI) product in the Netherlands to its defined contribution administration subsidiary TKP. By using TKP's platform, Aegon will be able to offer its customers a higher level of service and the opportunity to use the latest technology, while at the same time also benefiting from TKP's scale. TKP is expected to administer the entire PPI portfolio by the end of 2016.

Customer loyalty

To help people achieve a lifetime of financial security and to meet the strong demand for guidance, Aegon has launched 'Aegon Assist' in the UK, a free information and guidance service. This service is for customers who do not have a financial adviser, but want information about their Aegon products. In the rapidly changing retirement landscape, where people are required to make decisions regarding options that did not exist just months ago, many people are unwilling to pay for financial advice. While Aegon will continue to recommend seeking advice, Aegon Assist can be an important additional option for customers to get the information they need to make the right decisions.

In January, Aegon launched a Center of Excellence for Digital in order to become more agile and more effective, leading to a higher level of service and a better customer experience. The center is dedicated to sharing best practices and delivering digital expertise across the business units in Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, the Netherlands and Spain & Portugal. The center will provide experts for digital projects that are being executed in the different regions. In addition, it will initiate projects that will be reusable in multiple country units and fill a common need.

Underlining Aegon's capabilities as a customer-centric organization, Aegon's online bank Knab, won the Opiness award for providing the 'best service' in the category 'banks'. Opiness is a widely-respected, independent review platform in the Netherlands, and its annual awards are presented to companies that provide an excellent level of customer service.

Empowered employees

In the US, Transamerica scored 90 out of 100 in the 2016 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) rating. The rating reinforces Aegon's commitment to workplace equality, an important benchmark for customers when deciding where to buy financial products, as well as another important step in becoming a preferred employer in the sector.

Results from Aegon's fifth annual global employee survey place Aegon above the industry norm for the financial services sector. Employee enablement has increased 1 point in 2015 and reached 75 points, which exceeds the industry norm as well as the high performing norm with 7 and 4 points respectively. Employee engagement shows a slight decrease to 71 points, which is still above the industry norm and up 8 points since the first survey in 2011. 82% of all Aegon employees worldwide participated in the survey. This demonstrates the success of Aegon's ongoing work to become the most preferred employer in the sector, which allows Aegon to attract and develop the talent required to best service the needs of its customers.

Responsible business

As part of Aegon's commitment to a sustainable future, Aegon Asset Management has invested EUR 45 million in a German offshore wind farm(external link). This investment will help facilitate the transition to a low carbon economy and fits with Aegon's sustainability remit, while also promising an attractive risk/return over a relatively short period. Aegon Asset Management worked together with its French joint venture partner La Banque Postale Asset Management in the project, which invested a further EUR 25 million.

see and read more on
http://www.aegon.com/en/Home/Investors/News/Press-Releases/Archive/Earnings-Q4-2015/

tijd 09.18
Aegon EUR 4,36 -13,1 ct vol. 1,3 milj.