Access America 2003 Annual Report Download - page 6

Editorial
2003 – a year of stability and the pursuit of cost containment
Mondial Assistance Group, world leader in travel insurance and assistance services,
reconfirmed its number one market position in 2003, giving precedence to bottom line
profitability over growth. The majority of Group entities matched the parent company’s
performance, also maintaining strong market positions and stable profits in the countries
in which they operate, and this despite extremely tense global conditions.
We anticipated the year’s political and economic difficulties and attentively applied a
policy of strict cost containment and controlled investment, while carefully managing our
networks of service providers. Management of service providers is complex and includes
controlling quality and costs, negotiating for improved pricing, building up existing
networks and expanding into new, different types of provider networks. To further these
management processes, we relied on new internet technology tools, which enable Group
entities to better share and monitor key information regarding providers, thereby
optimising service quality and overall spending.
As a result, we as a Group and as individual business units were able to confront
immediate challenges with maximum efficiency and minimum down turn. We successfully
held our ground when there was a sharp drop in the tourism industry and the global
economy continued to falter.
2003 was also a year in which we actively deployed our strategy to develop domestic health
services throughout all markets, promoting solutions for illness prevention and personal
well-being. Benefiting from a successful launch, these services have demonstrated initial
success in terms of interest, client response and preliminary sales.
2003 figures – results even and steady
Despite a second year of economic stagnation and the morose international context, largely
defined by the onset of the war in Iraq and the SARS epidemic, Mondial Assistance Group
posted 995 million Euros in sales, only slightly less than in 2002. At constant exchange
rates and considering exceptional movements within the Group’s portfolio, the growth rate
compared to the previous year, in fact, is positive.
We also maintained profitability, posting positive net results for the Group of 15.6 million
Euros. This healthy performance is due in part to the significant improvement in damage
claims, and our strict policy of cost containment. Our stable results also demonstrate our
capacity to quickly adapt to market fluctuations and to resist crises which can drastically
affect our everyday markets.
4
Members of the Executive Committee
(from left to right)
Alain Demissy - President
Ida Luka-Lognoné
Didier Lebret
Jonathan Ansell