Britain's largest insurer Prudential reported a 17 per cent rise in third-quarter group sales, beating expectations and helped by a pick-up in demand from emerging markets such as Asia.
Prudential and rivals such as Aviva, faced with slow-growing home markets, have been trying to expand business in Asia where insurance penetration remains low, with under 4 per cent of China's GDP going to insurance premiums, compared with more than 12 per cent in Britain.
Prudential reported group-wide sales of £809 million in July-September based on Annual Premium Equivalent (APE) accounting standards. This compared with a consensus forecast of £773 million and a restated £689 million recorded a year earlier.
The company also reported £1.3 billion in new business profit in January-September, up from £1.1 billion a year earlier and in line with expectations for £1.3 billion. It did not give a figure for the third quarter.
"We remain well positioned to deliver strong growth and generate strong returns," Prudential said in a statement posted on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Prudential was forced to pull out of a $35.5 billion bid for rival insurer AIA Group Ltd earlier this year after shareholders balked at the price tag and AIA's owner, American International Group Inc, rejected a lower offer.
AIA made a public listing in Hong Kong last month, which values the company at $36.9 billion.
Growth in Prudential's Asian sales, widely seen as a key driver to the firm's growth, rose 25 per cent to £353 million, helped by the region's low penetration rates. But that rate was down from the average of 32 per cent so far this year.
The company's US arm, Jackson National Life, posted a 16 per cent rise in sales in the third quarter to £290 million, helped by strong growth in its retail annuity business.
In Britain, now the smallest slice of Prudential's business and also its slowest growth sector, sales rose 5 percent to 166 million pounds as it chose to concentrate on the country's retirement savings and income markets.
Prudential's London-listed shares are down about 1.5 per cent so far this year, lagging a 5 per cent advance by the European insurance stocks index.
Reuters