Prudential announces new share buybacks as H1 profits beat estimates

(Sharecast News) - Prudential delivered double-digit growth across its key metrics in the first half, with earnings coming in ahead of analysts' forecasts as it announced new plans for share buybacks over the next two years. The company, which said it had reached an "inflection point in our capital generation", said it would repurchase $500m of shares in 2026 and $600m in 2027.

Including the existing $2bn share buyback programme, the insurance and asset management company expects to have returned more than $5bn to shareholders over 2024 to 2027 in total.

New business profit over the six months to 30 June was up 12% at $1.26bn, while operating free surplus generated from in-force insurance and asset management business rose 14% to $1.56bn. Meanwhile, adjusted operating profit before tax was 6% higher than last year at $1.64bn, beating the $1.63bn consensus forecast.

The company raised its first interim dividend by 13% to 7.71 cents per share, and pledged to increase dividends by "more than 10%" for the next three financial years.

"We are pleased with our strong performance in the first half of 2025, delivering double-digit growth across our key metrics in line with the guidance we gave earlier in the year," said chief executive Anil Wadhwani.

"We have reached the inflection point in our capital generation, enabling us to update our capital management programme and increase shareholder returns, which validates our business model and its ability to generate sustainable cash returns."