Life and health insurance group Prudential has made a good start to the year as new business grew 11 per cent in the first quarter.
According to a trading update published by the firm today, its new business profit jumped 11 per cent, excluding economic impacts in the three months to 31 March. After allowing for economic impacts, the company said new business was “broadly unchanged”.
Prudential said these figures reflected the group’s “strong momentum” despite strong comparators in the same period last year.
The company, which counts Hong Kong and China as two of its biggest markets, benefited from the reopening of the border between the two regions in the first quarter of 2023. The border had been closed for several years as authorities tried to control the spread of coronavirus.
As a result of the strong year-on-year figures, growth in the Hong Kong market was flat, while growth at the Chinese venture went into reverse.
Annual premium equivalent (APE) sales for CITIC Prudential Life (CPL), Prudential’s Chinese Mainland joint venture, fell 17 per cent year-on-year during the quarter. However, sales via this channel in the first three months “exceeded the total for the last six months of 2023, for both the agency and bancassurance channels”.
Across Prudential, APE sales in the “growth markets and other” segment grew 28 per cent in total, driven by Thailand, Taiwan, India and Africa. Growth in these markets “more than offset” continued weakness in Vietnam.
Eastspring, Prudenital’s asset management arm, saw funds under management or advice hit $239bn (£191bn) at the end of March, compared to $237bn (£189bn) at the end of 2023. As well as inflows from the wider Prudential group, Eastspring also booked $100m (£80m) of inflows from third parties
Prudential’s chief executive Anil Wadhwani, said: “Against a strong prior period comparator that reflects our outperformance in the first quarter of 2023 when the border between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland reopened, I am pleased the Group has delivered new business profit growth of 11 per cent, excluding economic impacts.”
The chief executive added: “Our continued focus on the quality of business written is reflected in new business profit (excluding economic impacts) growing more than APE sales. Our total APE sales have grown sequentially each quarter since the third quarter of 2023, reflecting resilient consumer demand across Asia and demonstrating the strength of our multi-market and multi-channel distribution model.”