Regulated information - Ageas reports Full Year 2016 result

• Steady growth of Insurance net result due to solid operating performance
• Fourth quarter net result impacted by exceptional items in the UK and Asia
• Insurance Solvency II_ageas ratio above target at 182%
• Proposed gross cash dividend of EUR 2.10, including EUR 0.40 related to the Hong Kong sale

All 12 month 2016 figures are compared to the 12 month 2015 figures unless otherwise stated.

Ageas CEO Bart De Smet said: "2016 has been an eventful year for Ageas marked by by the sale of Hong Kong, the acquisition of Ageas Seguros, the launch of activities in the Philippines and Vietnam, and the Fortis Settlement. A court decision to declare the settlement binding that is expected by mid-2017, would bring to a close a difficult period for the people concerned and for the Group as a whole.

At an operational level, all segments, with the exception of the UK, achieved very good results. In the UK a number of exceptional events forced the Group to take significant one-off charges for restructuring and reserve strengthening partly in anticipation of changing regulations. Unfortunately these events also prevented us from realising the combined ratio target set out as part of our Ambition 2018 strategy.

Taking into account the strong underlying operating performance and the solid balance sheet, the Ageas Board proposes to distribute a total gross cash dividend of EUR 2.10 for the 2016 performance, EUR 0.40 of which is related to the capital gain on the Hong Kong divestment "