A strong set of results from Prudential (PRU) were inevitably overshadowed by the departure of chief executive Tidjane Thiam. How much does the market value the man quitting the Pru? Shares in Credit Suisse, where he is to take the helm, rose 7 per cent on the day, while Prudential's were down nearly 3 per cent. Broker Deutsche Bank urged investors to take advantage of the fall, pointing to the strength of the group's divisional heads. Of these, US chief Mike Wells is the heir apparent.
There are plenty of reasons to cheer last year's figures. Operating profit rose 14 per cent to £3.2bn at constant currencies. This was once again driven by the group's Asian operations, where operating profit was up 17 per cent at £1.1bn (although the growth reduced to 6 per cent at actual exchange rates). The renewal of its 'bancassurance' partnership with Standard Chartered (STAN) in July underpinned a 33 per cent second-half increase in 'annual premium equivalent' sales (the insurer's preferred measure of the current value of new premiums). This partnership means Prudential's life insurance products are sold exclusively through Standard Chartered's branches.