Financial services group Prudential (LON:PRU) announced its half year results today, disclosing a total pre-tax income rise of 32 per cent to £1.9 billion.

Operating profits jumped to £1.9 billion pounds, beating an average forecast of £1.74 billion from analysts. Total new business profit increased by 12 percent to 1.2 billion pounds.

The figures were boosted by surprise success in Asia, where pre-tax profits gained 20 per cent at actual exchange rates to £632 million.

This was the first set of Prudential results under new chief executive Mike Wells. In a statement, the company said:

“While in some markets we are seeing local short-term challenges, particularly in Indonesia where the macro-economic outlook remains fragile, our pan-Asian platform across 12 life markets in the region and significant diversification by country, product and channel enables the delivery of a strong regional performance.”