Key points:
- Aviva reports first-half earnings Wednesday
- The company said it was an ‘excellent six months'
- Aviva shares jumped 9%
Shares of Aviva (LON: AV) surged Wednesday morning, currently trading 9% higher after the company reported earnings for the first half of the year.
The insurance company's CEO Amanda Blanc said, “sales are up, operating profit is higher, our financial position is stronger. This has been an excellent six months for Aviva.”
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“Our scale and diversification give us resilience and opportunity, enabling Aviva to withstand the challenging economic climate. Our market leading positions and our unique ability to look after a wide range of customers' needs are clear advantages and have driven robust operating performance. Trading has been encouraging across all our major businesses in insurance, wealth and retirement,” she added.
Aviva reported an operating profit of £829 million, up 14% year-over-year.
UK & Ireland Life sales increased 4% to £16.8 billion from £16.2 billion during the same period last year, while general insurance gross written premiums were up 6% to £4.7 billion compared to £4.36 billion the previous year, with a 94% COR.
Aviva also hiked its interim dividend per share by 40% to 10.3p from 7.35p.
Looking ahead, Aviva said UK & Ireland Life is expected to see continued growth, while in General Insurance, they expect the rating environment to remain favourable in commercial lines, while in personal lines, they will “continue to price appropriately to manage inflation.”
