today's figures could not be described as exciting, yet the shares are now +20 at 650 after a low of 615 ..... back in april, aviva made an approach but terms could not be agreed ..... under SE rules, that meant no new approach could be made for 6 months (i assume that only applied to aviva) ...... for all that, if PRU's sp continues to thrive, why question?

Half Year 2012 - Business Review

ASIA CONTINUES TO DRIVE PROFITABLE GROWTH, WITH STRONG CASH REMITTANCES FROM ALL businesses

IFRS1:

· Operating profit of £1,162 million, up 13 per cent
· Asia life insurance business operating profit2 of £409 million, up 26 per cent
· Total profit before tax3 of £1,259 million, up 13 per cent
· Shareholders' funds of £9.3 billion, up 8 per cent4

New Business:

· EEV new business profit of £1,141 million, up 7 per cent
· Asia EEV new business profit of £547 million, up 18 per cent

Embedded Value:

· Operating profit of £2,109 million, down 2 per cent, reflecting low-interest rate environment
· Asia life insurance business operating profit2 of £872 million, up 13 per cent
· Shareholders' funds of £20.6 billion, up 5 per cent4, equivalent to 806 pence per share

Capital & Dividend:

· Strong underlying free surplus generation of £1.4 billion (before investment in new business), unchanged from last year
· Net remittances from business operations up 5 per cent to £726 million
· Asia net cash remittance of £126 million, up 20 per cent
· Insurance Groups Directive (IGD) capital surplus estimated at £4.2 billion; solvency requirements covered 2.7 times
· 2012 half year dividend increased by 5.7 per cent to 8.4 pence per share

Shares in FSTE 100 life insurer Prudential are pushing against their high point again, after the price ended on 859p on Friday. That's not far below October's 52-week high of 870p, and with the price having been on a steady climb since June, I wouldn't bet against that peak being surpassed pretty soon.

With forecasts strong, there could well be a fair bit more to come. Analysts put the shares on a full-year price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 12.5, falling to 11 next year, and there's a dividend in excess of 3% expected.

Business review going down well!

IFRS1:
· Operating profit of £2,533 million, up 25 per cent
· Asia operating profit2 of £988 million, up 26 per cent
· Total profit before tax3 of £2,810 million, up 54 per cent
· Shareholders' funds of £10.4 billion, up 21 per cent

New Business:
· EEV new business profit of £2,452 million, up 14 per cent
· Asia EEV new business profit of £1,266 million, up 18 per cent

Embedded Value:
· Operating profit of £4,321 million, up 9 per cent
· Asia life insurance business operating profit of £1,960 million, up 11 per cent
· Shareholders' funds of £22.4 billion, up 14 per cent, equivalent to 878 pence per share

Capital & Dividend:
· Underlying free surplus generation of £2.7 billion (before investment in new business), up 6 per cent from 2011
· Net remittances from business operations up 9 per cent to £1,200 million
· Asia net cash remittance of £341 million4, up 66 per cent, and for the first time, the largest contributor of cash to the Group
· Insurance Groups Directive (IGD) capital surplus estimated at £5.1 billion5; solvency requirements covered 3 times
· 2012 full year dividend increased by 15.9 per cent to 29.19 pence per share

Flying again.

FSA Final Notices

Prudential plc and its wholly owned subsidiary The Prudential Assurance Company Limited have agreed to settle with the Financial Services Authority over issues relating to the attempt to acquire AIA, the Asian subsidiary of AIG, in early 2010. The companies have agreed to pay fines totalling GBP30 million, in respect of a decision by the FSA that it and the UKLA should have been informed earlier about Prudential's contemplation of the potential transaction. The Group Chief Executive, Tidjane Thiam, has also agreed to be censured in respect of a decision by the FSA that it should have been informed earlier.

The FSA has confirmed the following in a statement accompanying the Final Notices published today:

"The investigation was into past events and does not concern the current conduct of the management of the Prudential Group. The FSA accepts that Prudential did consider their obligations in forming their assessment in respect of informing the regulator. Therefore, although the FSA considers that the circumstances of these breaches are serious, the FSA does not consider they were reckless or intentional."

Paul Manduca, the Chairman of Prudential PLC, said: "The Board has decided to settle this matter in the best interests of the Group and all its stakeholders. We wish to draw a line under the matter, and to ensure our constructive relationship with our regulators remains good. Tidjane acted at all times in the interests of the Company and with the full knowledge and authority of the Board. The Board wishes to express its satisfaction that all parties have agreed to this settlement."

"Prudential works hard to maintain close and positive relationships with its regulators and the Group's relationship with the FSA continues to be good. The FSA has determined that it should have been informed earlier about the fact we were contemplating the AIA transaction and we regret, with hindsight, not so doing."

"Over the past three years, our successful business strategy, led by Tidjane, and fully supported by the Board, has delivered excellent results for customers, shareholders and employees. This was most recently demonstrated by our strong annual results for 2012."

JACKIE HUNT APPOINTED AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE, PRUDENTIAL UK AND EUROPE

Prudential plc ("Prudential") announces the appointment of Jackie Hunt as Chief Executive, Prudential UK and Europe and to the Board of Prudential plc. Jackie will succeed Rob Devey, who will leave the Group at the end of October 2013 to pursue new opportunities.

Jackie will join Prudential from Standard Life plc where she is Chief Financial Officer. Before joining Standard Life in 2009, Jackie held a number of senior leadership roles within the UK insurance industry, first at Royal & Sun Alliance and then at Aviva.

Panmure Gordon Buy 1,138.50 1,160.00 1,160.00 Reiterates

Interims out today http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4649009

Interims out today.

PRUDENTIAL PLC 2014 HALF YEAR RESULTS

Group Performance Highlights (on constant exchange rate basis)
· IFRS operating profit of £1,521 million, up 17 per cent1
· EEV new business profit2 of £1,015 million, up 24 per cent1
· Underlying free surplus generation3 (after investment in new business) of £1,219 million, up 13 per cent1
· Net cash remittances from business units up 15 per cent to £974 million

Business Units Performance Highlights (on constant exchange rate basis)
· Asia life and asset management IFRS operating profit of £525 million, up 19 per cent1
· Jackson life IFRS operating profit of £686 million, up 28 per cent1
· UK life IFRS operating profit of £374 million, up 10 per cent
· M&G IFRS operating profit of £227 million, up 11 per cent

Capital & Dividend:
· IFRS shareholders' funds of £10.6 billion, up 9 per cent4
· EEV shareholders' funds of £25.9 billion, up 4 per cent4, equivalent to 1,009 pence per share
· Insurance Groups Directive (IGD) capital surplus5 estimated at £4.1 billion; solvency requirements covered 2.3 times
· 2014 interim dividend increased by 15 per cent to 11.19 pence per share

The Share Centre has given Prudential a 'buy' rating, saying that the insurer is "attractive for investors" after another set of strong results on Tuesday.

"We continue to recommend Prudential as a 'buy' for investors looking for a positive investment idea that spans the US, Asia and the UK. The Asian growth story continues to remain highly attractive along with strong UK and US operations."

Bullish piece.....

http://citywire.co.uk/money/the-expert-view-ladbrokes-ao-world-and-prudential/a767110#i=4

19 Nov 2014 Prudential PLC PRU Deutsche Bank Buy 1,480.25 1,491.00 1,630.00 1,680.00 Reiterates

Chart looking good GF.

Exane BNP Paribas Underperform 1,512.25 1,176.00 1,176.00 Retains

PRU..Prudential stock breaking out to 10 year high A lot of broker backing yesterday. Deustche 19 Nov Buy 1,680.00

an interesting call indeed ..... sp has already risen about £2 in the last 3 months

Yep Cyners and broker targets have it heading higher, just look at that chart.

Have a look at NG - similar - ex dividend tomorrow though.

i concur; the chart's terrific - see a slightly easier one to read on post 61

however, i don't really want to throw more money into the market at the moment, so not sure that i want to dump anything to buy here

19 Nov 2014 Prudential PLC PRU Societe Generale Buy 1,505.75 1,491.00 1,530.00 1,530.00 Reiterates