Multinational life insurer Prudential PLC (LSE:PRU) provided a decidedly mixed first-half interim report on Wednesday, though the FTSE 100 constituent stuck to its forward guidance guns.
New business profit saw a 1% year-on-year dip to $1.47 billion, although this was against a strong year-on-year comparative of 45% new business profit growth in the first half of 2023.
Higher volumes in Taiwan and Singapore helped to partially offset wider economic woes in Prudential’s Asia wheelhouse.
However, chief executive Anil Wadhwani, one of the main architects behind Prudential’s retrained focus on the Asian life sector, maintained mid-term guidance of 15-20% worth of new business profit growth by 2027 from the 2022 baseline.
Commenting on the Results, Wadhwani, said: "We entered this year with a clear strategy and a set of outcomes we are confident in achieving by 2027, namely a compounded annual growth rate for new business profit of 15 to 20% and double-digit for cash generation, both measured from a 2022 base.
“In the first half of 2024, we delivered high-quality new business profit growth of 8% alongside increased margins, on an ex-economics basis, and adjusted operating profit up 9%.
“This followed exceptional growth of 47% (excluding economic impacts) in new business profit for the full year 2023, resulting from the strong rebound in Hong Kong after the removal of Covid restrictions and the opening of the border with the Chinese Mainland.”
Firm-wide profit for the period was hammered by lower investment returns, which Prudential put down to interest rate fluctuations impacting fair value. As a result, profit before tax fell from $947 million in the first half of 2023 to $182 million in the first half of 2024.
Prudential nonetheless maintained a progressive dividend policy, announcing a 6.84c (US) dividend for each ordinary share, up over 9% year on year.