Amsterdam  - Dutch insurer Aegon suffered a loss of 1.2 billion euros (1.53 billion dollars) in the fourth quarter of 2009, the company said in its preliminary Q4 report released on Tuesday.

Financial analysts had expected a loss of 800 million euros.

Following the publication of the results, the share value of Aegon dropped by 3.1 per cent at the Amsterdam stock exchange and stood at 3.6 euros shortly after trading began on Tuesday.

The Dutch insurance giant, which received 3 billion euros in capital support from the Dutch government on October 28, said its loss was the result of a drop in its share value as well as write- offs on investments.

Aegon said a previously planned cost-saving operation of 150 million euros was "on track." Contrary to the expectations, Aegon did not announce job losses.

The company results released on Tuesday were only preliminary; the final Q4 results and its annual report will be published on March 12.

Aegon, which still made a profit of 429 million euros in the first half of 2008, says it is expecting an annual loss of around 1.1 billion euros.

In 2007, Aegon posted a 2.5-billion-euro-profit.

Aegon's equity capital late 2008 was 6.1 billion euros, 3 billion of which originate from the capital injection provided by the Dutch government. The company says it has sufficient capital to maintain its AA status. (dpa)