Britain's largest insurer Prudential reported a better-than-expected 34 per cent rise in first-half operating profit, helped by improving investment returns amid a broader market recovery.
Prudential reported an operating profit of £1.68 billion for the first six months of the year, based on European Embedded Value (EEV) accounting standards, higher than a consensus forecast of £1.54 billion, and better than the 1.25 billion pounds recorded a year earlier.
The company reported a 40 per cent rise in net profit of £968 million based on International Financial Reporting Standards, beating a consensus forecast of £724 million, and better than £688 million it posted a year earlier.
The firm raised its half-year dividend by 5 per cent to 6.61 pence per share.
Reuters