British insurer Aviva will return 4.75 billion pounds ($6.31 billion) to shareholders, it said on Wednesday, as it reported a 10% drop in 2021 operating profit.
Pedestrians walk past an Aviva logo outside the company's head office in the city of London March 5, 2009. REUTERS/Stephen Hirdwill return 4.75 billion pounds to shareholders, it said on Wednesday, as it reported a 10% drop in 2021 operating profit.
Aviva had previously said it would give back at least four billion pounds to investors following a string of disposals. Activist investor Cevian has sought five billion pounds in a cash return by the end of 2022. Aviva has raised 7.5 billion pounds from selling eight businesses across the globe since the appointment of Amanda Blanc as chief executive in July 2020."We’ve achieved a lot in the last year but we’re only just getting started," Blanc said in a statement.It upgraded its cost savings target to 750 million pounds for the 2018-24 period. Cevian had been pushing Aviva to cut costs more aggressively.
Operating profit from continuing operations was 1.63 billion pounds, hurt by weaker performance in the insurer's UK life business. Aviva said it would pay a total 2021 dividend of 22.05 pence per share, and expected a 40% increase in 2022 dividend to around 31.5 pence.Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by John O'Donnell