Prudential beats first quarter forecasts

By Clara Ferreira-Marques

LONDON (Reuters) - Life insurer Prudential (PRU.L) reported a 14 percent rise in first-quarter sales on Thursday, above analysts' forecasts, as stronger than expected growth in Asia more than offset a dip in U.S. new business.

Prudential, which competes with Aviva Plc (AV.L) for the top spot in the sector, said insurance sales for the three months totalled 729 million pounds, against an average forecast of 703 million from 17 analysts polled by the Pru.

Excluding the impact of dollar and other currency fluctuations, sales would have risen 13 percent.

"The numbers came in towards the better end of the range, with a particularly good performance out of Asia. The UK saw a good performance too, with no lumpy lines of business," analyst Youssef Ziai at ABN AMRO said. "Overall, I thought it was a good set of figures.

Asia, which accounts for more than half Pru's new business, remained a key driver in the first months of the year, posting sales of 375 million pounds, again above expectations, up 35 percent at actual exchange rates.

Prudential had warned that the region -- where it expects to hit a target of doubling the value of new business in 2008 -- could see growth soften towards longer-term growth rates after posting a 37 percent jump in sales in 2007.

But growth remained strong in the first months of the year, thanks to the recurring nature of most Asian sales and strong growth in India and Indonesia, where it continues to add agents.

Pru's shares, which trade at the highest multiple in the UK sector, were up 0.2 percent at 8:59 a.m., just below a 0.4 percent rise in the blue chip FTSE 100 index and in line with the European sector .SXIP.