Aviva toasts 12% H1 profit jump

The insurer, which also announced a £1bn reattribution of surplus assets held by two with-profit funds, said operating profit on a European Embedded Value (EEV) basis rose to £1.72bn from £1.54bn a year ago, when it was hit by the cost of heavy flooding. The announcement has seen the firm's share price advance more than 21p, or 4.55%, to 488p in early trading, although this is still a long way from its 52-week high of 783.5p per share. It says the result is in line with an average forecast of £1.7bn according to 10 analysts polled by Reuters, with estimates ranging from £1.63bn to £1.79bn...