 Norwich Union is owned by Aviva |
Aviva, the UK's biggest insurer, has turned in better than expected half-year profits, helped by strong sales of pensions and life insurance. The company said operating profits for the period rose 37% on the year to �1.1bn ($1.9bn), outstripping the �1bn forecast by City analysts.
Aviva said the figures suggested that consumer confidence in pensions and other savings products was recovering.
"Consumers are regaining their appetite for saving," said CEO Richard Harvey.
"The speed of recovery will be linked to investment market conditions and the elimination of investor uncertainty, particularly in the UK."
The fortunes of the insurance sector took a turn for the worse last year, after a sustained stock market slump dented the value of their investments and deterred many consumers from investing spare cash in pensions and insurance policies.
Consumer confidence in the savings industry has also been undermined in recent years by a series of mis-selling scandals.
Mr Harvey said he expected the UK savings market to register single digit growth over the second half of 2004.
Aviva shares were down 14.5p at 550p in early trade, retracing strong gains in the past week following positive results from rivals Legal & General and Prudential.
Analysts said the decline also reflected disappointment at Aviva's decision to raise its half-year dividend by just 4%.
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 