On A-Level day in England and Wales, Aviva PLC (LSE:AV.) has delivered what brokers are calling “straight As” in its latest half-year results.
It posted stronger profits that breached the £1bn mark, a bigger dividend and reassuring investors over the integration of Direct Line, the £3 billion takeover completed last month.
The shares rose 3.4% to 679.01p after the insurer’s adjusted operating profit rose 22% to £1.07 billion, a 10% beat on market forecasts, prompting a 10% increase in the interim dividend to 13.1p per share.
Amanda Blanc, chief executive, described the performance as “outstanding” and pointed to a robust balance sheet, with the group’s Solvency II capital ratio edging up to 206% from 203% at year-end.
General insurance was the star performer. Premiums rose 7% to £6.29 billion, while the combined operating ratio (a key profitability gauge where anything under 100% denotes an underwriting profit) improved to 94.6%.
Profits in the UK and Ireland jumped 50% to £430 million, with Canada delivering a 7% uplift.
Wealth management also shone, with net flows up 16% to £5.8 billion, lifting assets under management to £209 billion. Health insurance premiums rose 14% to £1 billion, although retirement sales slipped 3% amid a quieter bulk annuity market.
Panmure Liberum reiterated its 'buy' rating, calling the valuation “attractive” with the shares trading at just 13 times 2025 earnings, falling to 11 times in 2026, and offering a near-6% dividend yield.
The broker also highlighted Aviva’s growing focus on “capital-light” operations, which now generate two-thirds of earnings and are set to increase further.
The Direct Line deal, which adds scale in UK motor and home insurance, is expected to boost earnings per share by about 10% once synergies are fully realised.
Serving more than 21 million UK customers, Aviva plans to outline the next phase of its strategy at a November investor event.