Fortis Reports Q1 Profits Fell 5% to $687 Million

Fortis, the Dutch-Belgian financial services and insurance group, announced that net profits for the first quarter were 5 percent lower than last year’s figures, but reaffirmed its goal of increasing 2001 overall net operating income by more than 10 percent.

Increased costs, a drop in capital gains and a 19 percent fall in profits on insurance were blamed for the decrease.

Some divisions improved there performance, however. The company increased revenues in its retail banking operations by 7 percent, and gross premiums from life insurance increased 51 percent to €3.8 billion ($3.23 billion).