British insurer Prudential posts 6pc underlying profit growth
Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuations, group operating profit – the firm’s primary measure of profitability based on longer-term investment returns – rose 6 per cent year on year to £2.06 billion.
Asia life insurance and asset management’s contribution increased 15 per cent to £743 million thanks to strong growth in life insurance sales, while that from Britain grew 9 per cent to £492 million and that from the US fell 3 per cent to £876 million.
In the UK, Brexit has not interrupted our retail sales growth, especially pooled funds that are attractive in times of uncertainty
The London-based firm had a net profit of £687 million for the year’s first six months, down from £1.44 billion in the year-earlier period.
The drop was caused by “non-operating items” including short-term fluctuations in investment returns and the effect of changes in economic assumptions for long-term operations.
A poll of 22 analysts by Thomson Reuters projected the firm to book a net profit for the whole of this year of £3.05 billion, up 18.3 per cent from last year.
An interim dividend of 12.93 pence per share was declared, up 5 per cent from 12.31 pence in the year-earlier period.
Prudential chief executive Mike Wells said the firm’s underlying profit growth was led by Asia where the fast-growing middle-class population are increasingly seeking to save and invest for their retirement, adding it is “on track” to achieve its financial objectives for next year.