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Old Mutual sales get emerging market lift

London - Anglo-South African insurer Old Mutual [JSE:OML] reported better-than-expected quarterly sales, as growth in emerging markets partly offset a downturn in economically troubled Europe.

The insurer, asset manager and bank, which operates in 30 countries, had life insurance sales of £269m in the three months to March, down 10% and compared with a forecast for £262m in a company poll.

Weaker investor confidence in Europe contributed towards a 21% sales slump at Old Mutual's wealth management arm, the insurer said, partly offset by a 10% increase in emerging markets, led by South Africa, its historic home.

Heavily indebted European countries have been slashing spending in an effort to retain creditors' confidence, weighing on economic growth across the continent and deterring consumers from saving and investing.

Old Mutual, which has since 2009 been selling assets to cut debt and boost its share price, said a planned disposal of its majority stake in South African lender Nedbank remained hampered by a depressed global banking sector.

"The banking world generally has still got a long way to go before stability comes through. So, there is no change, I think, in the position externally," chief executive Julian Roberts told reporters on a conference call on Thursday.

A planned $8bn sale of Old Mutual's 52% Nedbank Group [JSE:NED] holding to HSBC fell through in 2010, and the group has said it aims to offload the stake when conditions allow, freeing it up to focus on insurance and asset management.

Old Mutual also unveiled net client cash inflows of £3.7bn for the first three months, compared with outflows of £2.8bn in the 2011 period and better than the £1.1bn outflow expected by analysts.

The improvement was driven by its US funds arm, earmarked for an initial public offering, which turned outflows of £600m a year ago into an inflow of £2.6bn thanks to a better investment performance.

Old Mutual shares were up 1.5% at 146 pence by 07:50 GMT, outperforming a 0.4% higher European insurance sector index.

The stock has risen 7.3% since the start of the year, beating a 4.5% increase for the wider European sector.

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