By Maarten van Tartwijk
AMSTERDAM--Dutch insurer Aegon NV Thursday posted a 60% fall in
net profit for the fourth quarter due to hedging losses, but said
that its operating performance had improved.
Aegon, the owner of U.S. insurer Transamerica, reported net
profit of 174 million euros ($239 million) for the final months of
2013, compared to EUR431 million in the same period a year
earlier.
The bottom line was hit by hedging losses as a result of rising
equity markets and interest rates, Aegon said.
Underlying pretax profit, which is seen as a better measure of
Aegon's operational performance, rose 7% to EUR491 million, helped
by a growth in business, investment gains and one-off charges.
Write to Maarten van Tartwijk at maarten.vantartwijk@wsj.com