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London - Insurer Old Mutual [JSE:OML] said a plan to streamline the group and boost investor returns was progressing well as it reported weaker than expected life insurance sales, held back by a downturn in Italy.
Old Mutual, which runs banking, insurance and fund management businesses in over 30 countries, had life sales of £369m in the first quarter, it said on Thursday.
Analysts had expected sales of £381m, according to a consensus analyst forecast calculated by the company.
The shortfall reflected a weaker performance in Italy, where sales received a one-off boost a year ago due to tax concessions.
The weaker performance in life insurance was offset by a strong sales of unit trusts, which rose 20% on the year to £2.7bn, beating the analyst consensus of £2.6bn.
Old Mutual, which last month sold its US life business as part of a plan to simplify its structure, said it was making "good progress" in delivering on this strategy.
The company also plans to partly list its US asset management business by the end of 2012, but last year failed to sell its majority stake in South African bank Nedbank to HSBC.
Old Mutual, which runs banking, insurance and fund management businesses in over 30 countries, had life sales of £369m in the first quarter, it said on Thursday.
Analysts had expected sales of £381m, according to a consensus analyst forecast calculated by the company.
The shortfall reflected a weaker performance in Italy, where sales received a one-off boost a year ago due to tax concessions.
The weaker performance in life insurance was offset by a strong sales of unit trusts, which rose 20% on the year to £2.7bn, beating the analyst consensus of £2.6bn.
Old Mutual, which last month sold its US life business as part of a plan to simplify its structure, said it was making "good progress" in delivering on this strategy.
The company also plans to partly list its US asset management business by the end of 2012, but last year failed to sell its majority stake in South African bank Nedbank to HSBC.
