Prudential Public (NYSE:PUK) reported first-half 2026 growth across several key financial measures, with new business profit rising 8%, earnings per share increasing 17%, and gross operating free surplus generation climbing 15% from a year earlier.
Chief Executive Officer Anil Wadhwani said the insurer remains focused on converting new business profit into cash generation while investing in its insurance and asset-management businesses across Asia and Africa. The company increased its first interim dividend per share by 15% and said it remains committed to its guidance for double-digit growth across key financial metrics in 2026, as well as its 2027 financial objectives.
Hong Kong, ASEAN and India Strategy
Wadhwani highlighted a more balanced Hong Kong business following the company’s efforts to expand its domestic franchise. Domestic customers now account for 50% of new business profit in the segment, while Chinese mainland visitors account for the other half. Domestic new business grew 22% during the first half, according to management.
The company said Hong Kong margins benefited from growth in health and protection business, as well as repricing and product-mix changes in some savings and protection products. Chief Financial Officer Ben Bulmer said health and protection represented about 57% to 58% of products on a policy-count basis in Hong Kong.
Management said it had not seen any effect on lapses, persistency or customer retention from discussion around tax enforcement related to Chinese mainland customers. Bulmer said about half of Hong Kong’s value in force relates to Chinese mainland visitors, of which 55% is health and protection business. More than 95% of payments for the products are made from funds already held in Hong Kong, he said.
Elsewhere, ASEAN markets increased new business profit by 13%, while the company’s India and Africa businesses delivered double-digit annual premium equivalent, or APE, growth. Wadhwani said Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam were expected to support group growth in the second half, though growth in Malaysia is expected to moderate from the first-half pace.
In India, Prudential said it has begun writing policies in its health insurance joint venture with HCL. Subject to regulatory approval of its transaction involving Bharti, the company expects to operate complementary life and health insurance platforms in the market. Regional CEO Naveen Tahilyani said the company’s near-term priority is to build a high-quality and profitable business over the next three to five years, with India potentially becoming a material franchise over five to 10 years.
Margins, Capital Generation and Shareholder Returns
Bulmer said the group’s new business margin expanded by two percentage points to 40% in the first half. He cited a continued focus on higher-return business, health and protection products, and agency productivity as opportunities for further medium-term improvement.
Embedded value per share excluding goodwill reached $15.27, or £11.50, and return on embedded value was 15%. Bulmer said the company sees scope to improve that return by two to three percentage points through the completion of its capability investment program, improved operating variances and increased operating leverage.
The company said underlying variances returned to positive territory, reflecting claims-management actions, higher revenue premiums and cost containment. Prudential expects to invest between $300 million and $350 million in 2026 as it largely completes its capability investment program, and it expects positive variances of more than $200 million in 2027.
Gross operating free surplus generation rose 15%, while net operating free surplus generation increased 41%. Prudential’s free surplus ratio was 209% at June 30, or 200% excluding remaining net proceeds from the initial public offering of its Indian asset-management business.
Prudential launched a combined $1.2 billion share buyback in January, scheduled for completion by the end of 2026. The company said actions to meet an initial 15% free-float requirement for its Indian asset-management operations are expected to generate about $0.3 billion in proceeds, which will be added to the 2026 buyback. It also expects to return a further $1.3 billion in 2027, contributing to more than $7 billion of shareholder returns between 2024 and 2027.
China Product Mix and Agency Transformation
In Chinese mainland operations, management said first-half results reflected regulatory changes affecting bancassurance expenses and a pronounced shift toward participating, or par, products. Angel Ng, Regional CEO of Greater China, Customer and Wealth, said par products represented 76% of the first-half mix, up from 40% in 2025 after rising from a low-single-digit share previously.
Ng said the company had pivoted toward protection products during the second quarter and expects to normalize the par-product mix to roughly 60% for the full year. Wadhwani said Prudential is working toward a full-year China margin of about 40%, compared with 43% in 2025. Management expects China’s full-year new business profit to be in a similar range to 2025 on a constant exchange-rate basis.
Prudential is also continuing a multiyear transformation of its agency operations, emphasizing higher-quality recruitment and productivity rather than mass recruitment. Tahilyani said active agent numbers grew more than 10% in Malaysia during the first half, while the company is seeking to improve both agent quality and active-agent growth in Indonesia and the Philippines.
The company said its Pru Ventures recruitment program has produced recruits with productivity five to six times that of normal organic recruits in Malaysia. Its Pru Action 1.0 artificial-intelligence performance-management module is being used at scale by 5,000 agents in Singapore, where regular users have improved productivity by more than 13%, Tahilyani said.
Eastspring Investments, Prudential’s asset-management business, increased underlying profit by 20% in the first half. Eastspring CEO Rajeev Mittal said the business reported strong inflows and investment performance, while a higher cost-income ratio was largely attributable to mechanics related to the IPMC sell-down.
About Prudential Public (NYSE:PUK)
Prudential Public (NYSE: PUK) is the New York listing for Prudential plc, a London?headquartered international life insurance and financial services group. The company provides a range of long?term savings, retirement and protection products designed for individual and institutional customers. Its core offerings include life insurance, pensions and annuities, group protection, and wealth and asset management services delivered through both proprietary and third?party distribution channels.
Prudential operates across multiple regions, with significant focus on fast?growing markets in Asia and Africa alongside its established businesses in Europe and other international markets.
