UK-based insurer Prudential made an operating profit of £3.2bn ($4.8bn) in 2014, a 14% increase on the £2.9bn it recorded in 2013.
The profit was boosted by strong returns from some of its investment businesses. European subsidiary M&G reported an operating profit of £446m, up 13% on the £395m recorded in 2013. The company said the increase in underlying profit was principally driven by higher average levels of funds under management, following a period of strong net inflows and positive market movements.
Prudential's Asian fund manager Eastspring Investments reported what the company said was a 'record level' of asset inflows of £5.4bn, which helped to take funds under management to £77.3bn, a rise of 28%. Eastspring posted an operating profit of £90m, up 22% on the 2013 figure of £74m.
However, Prudential also reported a substantial fall in its asset management business in the US, where profits fell 80% from £59m to £12m. The company incurred a £38m charge related primarily to the refund of certain fees by its Colorado-based asset management business Curian.
Commenting on the results, Tidjane Thiam, group chief executive, said: "The group delivered a strong performance in 2014. We continued to grow across our key metrics despite the challenges presented by historically low long-term interest rates in the US and the UK, major currency discontinuities in some of our key Asian markets and unprecedented regulatory changes in the UK life market."
Thiam is leaving the insurer this year to join Credit Suisse as CEO.