Prudential lays out new targets - UPDATE

10th Dec 2013 09:38

UK life insurance company Prudential has outlined new objectives to be met by 2017 in order to bolster profits.In a speech to investors in London on Tuesday, Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam laid out the three new objectives as part of "aggressive" growth plans to be driven by Asia's middle class.The first objective is to more than double Asia cash generation from £484m last year to £900m-£1.1bn.The next is to grow life and asset management profit in the region by a compound annual rate of at least 15% through to 2017.The third is to generate cash of £10bn across the group between 2014 and the end of 2017.Thiam told investors its exposure to fast growing markets would enable profitability and solid cash flows."We are building the group's long-term future by selectively investing in markets that share many of the positive characteristics that we find in our existing Asian markets, namely fast-growing gross domestic product, a young population and low insurance penetration," he said.Thiam said the insurer has already met the five of the six objectives he set for the group in 2010 and expects to reach the sixth by year end.The six goals were issued shortly after a failed bid to buy Asian rival AIA.Panmure Research reiterated a 'buy' rating and raised its target price to 1592p from 1453p after the latest announcement. "For us the key objective is to generate free surplus of at least £10bn (about one third of Pru's current market cap) over the four-year period from 2014-17," the broker said. "We interpret this to mean significant returns of surplus capital for shareholders."Shares rose 0.79% to 1,276p at 14:49.RD