By Sumeet Chatterjee and Carolyn Cohn
HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) - Prudential (LON:PRU) PLC posted a 3.6% rise in first-half operating profit on Wednesday, as the Asia-focused insurer benefited from a rebound in Chinese investors buying insurance products in Hong Kong, its key revenue centre.
The profit numbers, which Jefferies analysts said came in slightly above consensus, drove Prudential's shares up 3.1% at 0721 GMT, making it the best performer in the FTSE 100.
As China ended its stringent zero COVID-19 policy late last year and gradually removed border restrictions, mainland visitors have started to buy insurance again in the Asian financial hub.
Hong Kong insurance has long been a channel for Chinese buying assets abroad, with the policies providing more protection than what is available on the mainland, and attendant savings and investment products mostly denominated in dollars.
Hong Kong's performance from July and August showed that growth was continuing into the third quarter, Chief Executive Officer Anil Wadhwani, who joined the insurer in February, told a media conference.
"We are delighted to see ongoing momentum...we continue to feel good about our growth prospects in Hong Kong," he said.
Prudential intends to invest around $1 billion in areas such as its distribution networks. The insurer is focusing on organic growth, rather than M&A, Wadhwani added.
Adjusted operating profit of the London and Hong Kong dual-listed company was $1.46 billion for January-June, versus $1.41 billion in the same period a year earlier, it said in a statement.
Besides disclosing earnings, Wadhwani announced a strategy that included "targeted investment in structural growth markets" across Asia and Africa.
Prudential said it expects the strategy to generate 15%-20% compound annual growth in new business profit by 2027, and achieve double-digit compound annual growth in operating free surplus in the same period.
Prudential's annualised premium equivalent (APE) sales, a closely watched gauge of insurance sales, rose 37% to $3 billion on a stronger pickup in sales from Chinese mainland visitors to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong-based insurers including Prudential and AIA Group benefited from Chinese investors rushing to buy Hong Kong insurance, as well as making other U.S. dollar investments, as investor confidence in local markets languished.
AIA last week reported a 37% rise in the value of new business in the first half of this year, beating estimates, as sales rebounded in its key markets of mainland China and Hong Kong after the lifting of pandemic restrictions.
Prudential said APE sales in Hong Kong rose more than four times in the first half, and business generated from Chinese mainland visitors enjoyed a "significant increase" following the opening of the border.
The outlook for Asia-focused insurers in the near future, however, is set to be clouded by slowing growth momentum in the Chinese economy, which has resulted in a surge in the unemployment rate and is weighing on disposable income.
"Consumers in Asia remain resilient despite the challenging environment. While the outlook for Asian markets is mixed, our momentum in the first half has continued into the third quarter," Prudential said.