NETHERLANDS – The Blue Sky Group, which manages the pension assets of airline KLM, says it will “actively explore” cooperation possibilities.

“The management believes it would be advisable to focus not only on organic growth but also to actively explore the possibilities that exist for cooperation,” the Amstelveen-based company said in its annual report.

“This is expected to lead to new possibilities and to put the organisation in a better position to compete with major players, such as insurance companies or administrators,” the five-year old company added.

“Activities of this kind should contribute to the company’s primary goals: continuity and quality.”

Assets under management at the end of 2003 rose to 8.1 billion euros, from 7.7 billion euros a year before.

The group had a turnover of 16 million euros in 2003, compared to 10.6 million euros in the abbreviated 2002 financial year. “The turnover increase was the result of the different rate structure agreed on with the KLM Pension Funds.”

It had a profit of 4.2 million euros, from 2.7 million euros a year before.

Blue Sky gained its first non-KLM client last September: the Lucent Technologies Pension Fund.

Blue Sky is a private limited company with the three KLM pension funds as shareholders and has around 80 staff.