AXA GERMANY LOOKING TO OUTPERFORM MARKET

The German arm of French insurer AXA is looking to grow faster than the overall market this year. The company said that the German arm is expected to record a rise of between 3% and 4% in booked insurance contributions for 2007, up from €6.31m in 2006. Underlying earnings should rise to €375m. The announcement comes less than a month after it was announced that, following AXA’s purchase of Swiss insurer Winterthur, it would be cutting 1,200 jobs in Germany over the next three years, equal to a 12% cut in staff.