British insurer Aviva has reported that its Irish sales jumped 61% to £558m in the first six months of this year, boosted by sales of £223m through its takeover of AIB's Ark Life division earlier this year.
But life profits fell from £21m to £8m, though insurance profits rose from £83m to £88m.
Life sales through Hibernian were up 23% to £131m, but pension sales dropped to £204m from £241m in the same period last year. The company said this was due to an exceptional level of investment only pension contracts sold last year.
Aviva said it expected further growth over the next year as SSIA accounts matured. The Irish operations contributed £11m of new business, up from £9m in the same period a year earlier, but competition lowered margins from 2.6% to 2%.
Overall, Aviva reported a 27% increase in its first-half profit to just under £1.7 billion, just above its own target and at the higher end of analysts' expectations. Worldwide sales climbed 25%, with UK sales rising 43% to just under £6.9 billion.
