(Reuters) -British insurer Aviva raised its interim dividend on Thursday after reporting a 22% jump in half-year operating profit, driven by strong growth in UK & Ireland general insurance premiums and higher wealth net flows.
The company, which closed a 3.7 billion pound ($5.02 billion) takeover of smaller rival Direct Line in July, said it would provide more details on Direct Line and the impact of the deal on its targets in November.
“(Direct Line) integration is well underway… and we are confident the deal will contribute significantly to Aviva’s future growth,” CEO Amanda Blanc said in a statement.
Aviva, which also provides wealth and retirement services, said it expected some areas of rate softening in the second half of the year for its general insurance business, but its wealth and health divisions were expected to grow further.
The company posted an operating profit of 1.07 billion pounds for the six-month period ended June 30, compared with the 875 million pounds reported for the year-earlier period.
The insurer raised its dividend by 10% to 13.1 pence per share.
($1 = 0.7365 pounds)
(Reporting by Yamini Kalia and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
