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Insurer Aviva hailed a “steady” performance against a turbulent backdrop in the first half of the year, as it signaled a possible sale of its Asian business.<\/p>\nInsurer Aviva hailed a “steady” performance against a turbulent backdrop in the first half of the year, as it signaled a possible sale of its Asian business.<\/p>\n
The company said operating profit for the six months to the end of June was up 1% to \u00a31.45bn, while operating earnings per share ticked up 2% to 27.3p.<\/p>\n
This came during a period which chief executive Maurice Tulloch said was “characterized by a challenging economic and political backdrop and significant levels of organisational and leadership change.”<\/p>\n
He also announced that the company would review options for its Asian business.<\/p>\n
“Our Asian operations are strategically and financially attractive, however, we are evaluating a range of options to enhance the value of the businesses to shareholders,” he said.<\/p>\n
It comes a week after Reuters reported that the insurer was mulling a sale of the Asian unit, with a possible value of up to $2bn.<\/p>\n
First half performance was “mixed”, but the board approved a 2% increase in the dividend to 9.5p per share.<\/p>\n
Operating profits in life insurance and asset management were both down, falling 8% and 18% respectively.<\/p>\n
Life insurance performance was impacted in the UK by the competitive market, leading to lower new business volumes.<\/p>\n
But general insurance saw a 29% rise in operating profit.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Aviva said the challenging macro backdrop was expected to persist in the second half, including a softer outlook for economic growth in Europe and the UK.<\/p>\n
In June, the company announced that it would axe 1,800 jobs to cut costs, just a few months into Mr Tulloch’s tenure following his appointment in March.<\/p>\n