Prudential raises savings targets to help crack Egg losses

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2006

LONDON (AFP) — Prudential, the second-biggest British insurance group, has published solid half-year results but sharply raised its cost-savings target in a bid to halt losses at online banking division Egg.

The group, which in March fought off a takeover bid by larger rival Aviva, said that new insurance sales had jumped 9.0 percent to 1.255 billion pounds (1.838 billion euros, 2.332 billion dollars) in the six months to June 30.

That compared with 1.152 billion pounds during the same period a year earlier, while analysts' consensus forecast had been for a figure of 1.218 billion.

Online banking division Egg posted a pre-tax operating loss of 39 million pounds in the first half, down from a profit of 13 million pounds a year earlier.

As a result,...