* H1 pretax op. profit 791 mln pounds vs. 776 mln consensus
* Repays 603 mln pounds debt in year to date
* Eyeing move into Nigerian non-life insurance
* Shares down 0.9 pct, underperforming sector
LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Insurer Old Mutual
reported a better-than-expected 12 percent rise in half-year
profit, helped by a strong performance at its South African
banking unit, and said it was pressing ahead with plans to
expand in sub-Saharan Africa.
Old Mutual, which runs insurance, banking and fund
management businesses in about 30 countries, made a pretax
operating profit of 791 million pounds ($1.24 billion) in the
first six months, surpassing the 776 million pounds expected by
analysts in a company poll.
The improvement was driven by a 27 percent jump in profit at
Nedbank, Old Mutual’s majority-owned South African
banking business. That outweighed “challenging” conditions at
the group’s Europe-focused wealth management division.
Chief Executive Julian Roberts declined to comment on
whether Old Mutual still intended to sell Nedbank under a
three-year old retrenchment plan aimed at reducing debt and
soothing investor fears the group’s sprawling structure has held
back its shares.
“It’s clear Nedbank has contributed greatly,” he told
reporters on a conference call. “We’re doing quite a lot now
between Nedbank and the rest of the businesses, and it is part
of the group.”
Continued…
