Global insurance giant Prudential (LSE: PRU) revealed robust financial results on Monday, reporting a surge in profit for the first nine months of 2023. The company attributed its positive performance to growing consumer demand across the Asian market.
Despite Prudential’s commendable financial performance, its shares saw a minor dip of 0.8%, trading at 892.00 pence each during the London opening hours on Monday.
Prudential’s primary focus on the Asian market bore fruit, as the company announced a remarkable 34% year-on-year increase in new business profit, reaching an impressive $2.14 billion, up from $1.60 billion in the same period last year. The boost was fueled by an impressive 36% surge in new business sales, climbing from $3.25 billion to $4.42 billion. The surge was notably driven by heightened sales in Hong Kong, thanks to both increased sales to Chinese Mainland visitors and strong demand from domestic customers.
The company underscored that when excluding economic impacts, the new business profit escalated even further, reaching a remarkable 45% growth rate. The driving force behind this substantial profit increase was the rising demand for savings, health, and protection products within the Asian market.
Prudential’s Chief Executive Officer, Anil Wadhwani, emphasized the company’s commitment to executing its recently announced five-year strategy. The strategy is designed to enhance the group’s operational efficiency and increase the productivity of its agency and bank distribution channels. He stated, “We continue to build our core capabilities across our strategic pillars of customer, distribution, and health and supporting enablers, including technology.”
Mr. Wadhwani added, “Our diversified business model and strong capitalization positions us well to navigate ongoing challenges in the macro-economic and geopolitical environment. Looking forward, the environment continues to be challenging, but new business momentum has continued into the fourth quarter, supported by our multi-market growth engine.”
