Prudential’s annual net profit surges 65% to £2.216bn

British insurance giant Prudential, whose boss Tidjane Thiam is leaving to join Swiss bank Credit Suisse, yesterday posted soaring annual profits and sales. Net profits surged 65% to £2.216bn ($3.34bn, €3.1bn) last year, from £1.346bn in 2013, Prudential said in a results statement. Operating profit, or earnings before tax and interest payments, advanced 14% to £3.2bn on a constant currency basis. Total sales grew 15% to £60.1bn, while the group also hiked its final shareholder dividend by 10% to 36.93 pence per share. Despite bumper earnings, Prudential shares slid 1.20% to 1,643.50 pence on London’s FTSE 100 index, which was down 0.21% at 6,862.06 points. “Insurer Prudential is leading the decline in early trade off the back of news that the CEO is to depart and this has eclipsed some stellar earnings data,” noted analyst Tony Cross at trading firm Trustnet Direct.