16th Nov 2023 10:05
(Alliance News) - Aviva PLC on Thursday reaffirmed its guidance for operating profit growth in 2023, as the slimmed down insurer reported "strong growth" in the first nine months of the year amid "clear trading momentum".
Aviva said it is "extremely confident" in its ability to make shareholder returns, reaffirming it will pay a dividend of 33.4 pence per share for 2023. This would be up 7.7% from 31.0p in 2022, which in turn was up 41% from 22.05p in 2021.
In a trading update on Thursday, the London-based company said general insurance gross written premiums grew by 13% to GBP8.0 billion in the nine months to September 30 from GBP7.2 billion in the same period of 2022.
Aviva has spent the past few years shedding all global operations other than those in the UK, Ireland and Canada.
On Thursday it said all three of those regional operations saw strength in both commercial and personal lines of insurance. Gross written premiums were up 15% in UK & Ireland and up 11% at constant currency in Canada.
"Aviva's prospects are very positive," Chief Executive Officer Amanda Blanc, who led the restructuring. "We expect to beat our medium-term financial targets and, in line with previous guidance, grow operating profit by 5% to 7% this year, despite higher weather-related claims." Operating profit was GBP1.35 billion in 2022.
Less positively, in Wealth Management, Aviva reported net flows of GBP6.4 billion in the first nine months of the year, representing 6% of opening assets under management. Net flows were down 9% from a year before, "due to the impact of the challenging market volatility", it said.
Aviva share were up 0.8% to 417.30 pence on Thursday morning in London.
By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor
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