Legal & General’s First-Half Operating Profit Meets Estimates

Legal & General Group Plc reported operating profit that almost met estimates even as clients pulled £31.3 billion ($40 billion) from its asset management arm in the first half of the year due to adjustment of portfolios by its defined benefit clients.

The London-based insurer said in a statement Wednesday that its operating profit for the six months through June was £920 million ($1.17 billion), close to the Bloomberg consensus of £923 million. Core operating profit improved less than 1% from a year earlier to £849 million, but Chief Executive Officer António Simões said it’s expected to grow by mid-single digits.