London, March 19, 2026, 21:28 GMT 1
Prudential PLC has stepped up shareholder returns after reporting a 12% rise in 2025 new business profit, with stronger sales in Hong Kong, mainland China and Indonesia giving the insurer room to deepen buybacks. The company has begun a $1.2 billion repurchase for 2026 and said it expects a further $1.3 billion capital return in 2027, taking expected shareholder returns for 2024 to 2027 to more than $7 billion. 2
That matters now because investors have been waiting to see whether Prudential can turn sales growth into cash that can be paid out. Operating free surplus generation — the group’s measure of internal cash creation — rose 15% to $3.059 billion, and its free surplus ratio, a gauge of capital headroom over requirements, stood at 221%, above the group’s 175% to 200% target range. 3
The signal from Prudential also lands as Asian life insurers lean harder on payouts. Rival AIA said on Thursday it would launch a $1.7 billion buyback after reporting record 2025 new business value, underlining how capital returns are moving closer to the centre of the sector story, not just growth. 4
Prudential said new business profit on a traditional embedded value basis — an estimate of future profits from policies sold — rose to $2.782 billion in 2025 from $2.464 billion a year earlier. Annual premium equivalent sales, an industry measure of new business volumes, increased 6% at constant exchange rates to $6.661 billion, while adjusted operating profit before tax rose 5% to $3.306 billion. 3
Chief executive Anil Wadhwani said Prudential carried 2025 momentum into 2026 and remained “firmly on track” toward its 2027 goals. Prudential, which operates in 20 markets across Asia and Africa, said Hong Kong new business profit rose 12%, mainland China 27% and Indonesia 11%. 3
The board raised the full-year dividend 15% to 26.60 cents a share, including a second interim payment of 18.89 cents. Eastspring, the asset management arm, increased funds under management and advice 8% to $277.7 billion by year-end. 3
The market reaction was cooler. Prudential shares fell about 2% in early trading after the results, and Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, called the numbers “decent” but said the next test was whether new business profit can accelerate. 5
Richard Hunter at Interactive Investor said stronger free-surplus generation should support higher payouts, though he said the dividend yield still looked modest at about 1.8% by UK insurance standards. Marc Jocum, senior product and investment strategist at Global X ETFs, said he remained “constructive” on the wider shift toward buybacks and capital discipline. 6
But the outlook is not straightforward. Prudential said global uncertainties and conflicts could weigh on the economies where it operates, while Hunter pointed to geopolitical tension around China and competition across its markets; Britzman also warned that any slip in execution could push medium-term targets out of reach. 3
Prudential named Douglas Flint, the former HSBC chair, as its next chair in January, with Shriti Vadera due to step down in May. The pressure now is simpler: show that stronger sales in Hong Kong and mainland China can keep feeding cash generation, not just headline growth, through 2026. 7
