Aviva back in black for H1 amid 'strong outflows' from funds arm

Aviva has reported a profit after tax of £776m for the first half of this year, turning around a £624m loss for the half year 2012, but said its funds business has seen outflows.

Aviva Investors was cited as a "turnaround business" which has underperformed from a shareholder perspective and the group said it expects it to play a "more prominent role" in future. However, operating profit for Aviva Investors bounced £17m compared to the half year 2012 results to £31m, driven by higher revenues and lower costs. Funds under management have increased by £8.5bn over the first half of the year, though this was driven by market movements and the impact of FX movements and the group said there had been "strong outflows". Operating expenses are 9% lower and the compa...