AXA CFO Says Euro’s Decline Against Dollar to Help Earnings

AXA SA’s Chief Financial Officer Gerald Harlin said the euro’s decline against the dollar should help earnings in coming quarters as France’s largest insurer posted nine-month sales that were little changed.

Sales during first nine months of the year were 69.6 billion euros ($88 billion) compared with 69.5 billion euros in the same period in 2013, Paris-based AXA said in a statement. Like-for-like sales, which exclude currency swings, rose 2 percent, the insurer said.

The euro fell about 8 percent against the dollar in the third quarter. That should be “a good thing” for AXA’s earnings and balance sheet in coming quarters, Harlin told reporters on a conference call. He didn’t elaborate further.

AXA’s property & casualty sales rose 3 percent from the year-earlier period to about 23.2 billion euros. Life and savings revenue fell 1 percent to 41.1 billion euros.

Inflows into AXA’s asset-management units rose to 16.3 billion euros in the first nine months from 6 billion euros in the year-earlier period.