Prudential posts profit rise despite 43% annuity slump

Prudential posted an operating profit of £374m in its UK life business in the first half of the year, despite suffering a 43% drop in annuity sales. The insurer said the changes announced in the March Budget contributed to an acceleration in demand for its drawdown products, which posted a 95% growth in sales. It cut the minimum income requirement on its drawdown product from £50,000 to £25,000 in April, shortly after the Chancellor announced radical reforms to pensions in his fifth Budget speech. Prudential's total UK life sales increased by 22% to £433m in H1, largely down to fou...