AXA says well placed to face economic uncertainty ahead

PARIS (Reuters) - AXA (AXAF.PA) is well placed to cope with an unstable economic environment and Europe's second-biggest insurer will pursue its efforts to become more efficient, AXA's CEO said on Thursday.

AXA reported a 12 percent rise in net profit for 2015 as stronger earnings in life insurance and asset management offset weakness in its property business.

The insurer said it had delivered on its main 2015 targets, helped by stronger revenues in Asia, where it has invested 4.2 billion euros ($4.6 billion) since 2010.

"The economic environment will remain pretty uncertain, maybe pretty unstable, but I think AXA is very well positioned to face this environment," Chief Executive Henri de Castries said in an interview, published on the company's website.

AXA plans to present new strategic plan in June. He said that to a certain extent the plan will be a continuation of AXA's efforts to become more efficient, more selective and to accelerate its business in some activities or territories.

With 40 percent of its business outside the euro zone, earnings benefited from a weaker euro.

Net income for 2015 came in at 5.617 billion euros ($6.2 billion), up 12 percent from 5.024 billion a year earlier. The increase was 3 percent at constant exchange rates and above the average forecast in a Reuters poll of 5.568 billion euros.

AXA had a solvency capital ratio of 205 percent of the minimum requirement under new European rules compared with 212 percent at the end of the third quarter.

A solvency ratio of 100 percent means an insurer has set aside enough capital to meet underwriting, investment and operational risks.

The company said it would pay a total dividend of 1.1 euros per share, up 16 percent from the previous year.

(Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva; editing by David Clarke)