British insurer Prudential reported strong first-half results on robust growth in key markets from Hong Kong to Indonesia.
New business profit, a key metric for sales and future growth, grew 12 per cent to US$1.26 billion in the first six months, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Growth was broad-based with 13 out of our 19 life insurance markets growing new business profit in the period,” the statement said.
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Indonesia posted new business profit growth of 34 per cent, while Hong Kong reported an an overall 16 per cent growth and mainland China 8 per cent.
Insurance sales agents approach mainland tourists in Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Eugene Lee alt=Insurance sales agents approach mainland tourists in Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Eugene Lee>
Growth in Hong Kong, the company’s largest profit-generating region, was driven by sales to both mainland Chinese visitors and local customers. Profit from new policies sold to local customers jumped 17 per cent in the first half of 2025, while profit from sales to mainland Chinese visitors increased 15 per cent.
The London and Hong Kong-listed insurer reported a rebound in earnings after a disappointing 2024 in which demand from mainland Chinese customers fell due to a slowing economy.
According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, nearly 23.6 million travellers visited Hong Kong in the first half of the year, a 12 per cent rise from the same period last year. About 75 per cent of the visitors were from mainland China.
Life insurance sales in Hong Kong rose 43 per cent in the first quarter to a record high. The industry reported HK$93.4 billion (US$12 billion) worth of new life policies, up from HK$65.3 billion a year earlier, the Insurance Authority said in July.
AIA, Asia’s largest insurer, last week posted a similar 12 per cent growth in operating profit.
For the first half of this year, Prudential’s net profit surged more than tenfold to US$1.28 billion, which was in line with market expectations, compared with an 87 per cent decrease during the same period last year.
Operating profit, or income excluding one-off items or valuation changes, rose 6 per cent to US$1.64 billion.
The company said it would pay a dividend of 7.71 US cents per share, an increase of 13 per cent from a year earlier. It also said it planned to deliver annual dividend growth of more than 10 per cent for the next two years.