Prudential Public (NYSE:PUK) management used its full-year 2025 earnings presentation to emphasize what CEO Anil Wadhwani called a year of “high quality, consistent growth,” highlighting double-digit gains across key financial metrics, progress in a multi-year transformation program, and an expanded capital return plan.
Full-year results and 2026 outlook
Wadhwani said the company delivered double-digit growth across key financial metrics in line with guidance, supported by “strong execution” across markets and channels. For 2025, management reported:
- New business profit (NBP) up 12% to $2.8 billion
- Operating profit per share up 12%
- Gross operating free surplus generation (OFSg) up 15% to $3.1 billion
- Dividend per share up 15%
Segment and channel performance: growth led by bancassurance
Management described broad-based growth across all reporting segments, with particular strength in bancassurance. Bulmer said bancassurance NBP rose 27% in 2025 and included a five-point margin improvement driven by mix effects and repricing actions. Wadhwani added that bancassurance NBP crossed the billion-dollar mark and has already delivered around 95% of the lower end of the company’s 2027 bancassurance NBP objective.
Agency NBP grew 4% year-over-year, while “other channels” (largely broker distribution in Hong Kong and Taiwan) grew 15%, Bulmer said.
Bulmer also detailed a shift toward what management described as higher-quality, capital-efficient business. He said 36% of 2025 NBP came from health and protection products, while another 50% came from fee-based participating and linked savings products. That mix, along with prior repricing actions on flagship savings products, contributed to a two-point increase in new business margin to 42%, according to Bulmer.
Market highlights: Mainland China and Hong Kong led, with broad-based momentum
In Mainland China, Wadhwani said new business profit increased 27%, with bancassurance as the main driver and a “meaningful shift in product mix towards participating business.” Bulmer said the shift to participating products increased their share of new sales by 24 points year-over-year to 39%, contributing to expected margin moderation; he added management expects a “further modest margin decline” in 2026 as the mix shift continues. Bulmer said Mainland China bancassurance NBP rose 59%, with all top ten partners delivering double-digit sales growth and a particularly strong performance from CITIC Bank. He also noted that the business issued RMB 5 billion of perpetual bonds in January and announced a further RMB 4 billion refinancing expected in June.
In Hong Kong, Wadhwani said NBP rose 12% with growth across domestic and Mainland Chinese visitor segments, and continued expansion in both agency and bancassurance. Bulmer said Hong Kong NBP increased 12% to $1.2 billion, supported by 8% sales volume growth and a two-point margin expansion. Agency NBP grew 9%, and average monthly active agents increased 12%. Bancassurance NBP rose 25%, and margins in that channel grew by six percentage points. Bulmer added that health and protection products comprised over 60% of new agency cases and about 40% on the bancassurance side.
In Indonesia, Wadhwani reported 11% NBP growth, supported by agency productivity gains and progress in bancassurance, including contributions from a partnership with Bank Syariah Indonesia. Bulmer said Indonesia margins were four percentage points higher, driven by medical repricing and a shift toward more profitable traditional products, while bancassurance NBP increased 53%.
In Malaysia, Wadhwani said NBP increased 5%, driven by strong bancassurance, and the agency channel improved in the second half after market-wide disruption in the first half. Bulmer said Malaysia’s NBP rose 5% for the year, with second-half new business profit up 21%. Bulmer also said bancassurance NBP increased 21% and agency NBP fell 2% for the year but rebounded to 10% growth in the second half. Wadhwani added Prudential agreed and completed an increase in its shareholding of its conventional business to 70% in January 2026.
In Singapore, management reported 2% NBP growth. Wadhwani said margins reflected a sales mix shift toward savings and wealth. Bulmer said sales rose 5% but margin compressed by two points, and noted accelerated agency sales momentum in the second half. He also said Prudential entered a new bancassurance partnership with CIMB in the fourth quarter.
Wadhwani and Bulmer also referenced growth in Taiwan, Thailand, and Africa. Bulmer said Africa APE increased 24%, while in India overall sales were 2% lower but retail protection grew 22%. He described Vietnam as a transition year due to a new insurance law and regulatory changes, with new sales falling but margins improving.
Transformation initiatives: agency, health, customer, and AI
Wadhwani framed 2025 as continued progress in a five-year transformation program, with agency transformation identified as the “number 1 priority.” He said agency remains a core driver of NBP, but growth has moderated recently compared with bancassurance. Management highlighted improving productivity metrics: Wadhwani said new business profit per active agent rose 15%, and Bulmer echoed that productivity gains are linked to agent quality.
Wadhwani also described efforts to strengthen “quality recruitment,” including the PRUVenture program, which he said scaled in Hong Kong and was associated with higher productivity for recruits in Malaysia. He acknowledged that the agency transformation “has been different compared to what we anticipated,” citing higher productivity but lower active agent numbers than desired.
On health, Wadhwani said a dedicated health-focused vertical has embedded discipline in medical repricing, partner network management, and fraud, waste and abuse controls. He said analytics and AI reduced fraud, waste and abuse by more than $100 million in 2025. Wadhwani also provided an update on a standalone health initiative, saying the company is progressing through the regulatory cycle and is preparing to launch “in the near future.”
On customer experience, Wadhwani said retention improved by one percentage point to 88%, and six business units are now in the top quartile for relationship net promoter score, up from three in 2022.
Management repeatedly pointed to technology and AI as enablers. Wadhwani cited examples including $300 million of APE delivered through a customer engagement platform, underwriting time in Hong Kong reduced by around 50% through near-instant decisions, 1.5 million interactions on the customer digital platform, and PRUServices processing 90% of transactions straight-through without manual intervention. He also said PRUForce managed nearly 11 million leads for agents and PRUAction delivered a 15% lift in productivity in Singapore.
Capital actions and shareholder returns
Prudential highlighted multiple capital actions completed during 2025 and early 2026. Wadhwani said the company completed a $2 billion share buyback program, listed its Indian asset management business, and increased its dividend per share by 15%, and launched a further $1.2 billion buyback in 2026.
Bulmer detailed the company’s capital return framework and plans. He said all $1.4 billion of net proceeds from the ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company IPO and pre-IPO placement will be returned to shareholders, split half in 2026 and half in 2027. He also outlined additional recurring capital returns starting with $500 million in 2026 and $600 million in 2027, and said the company expects to return over $7 billion of capital to shareholders between 2024 and 2027.
On financial position, Bulmer said the free surplus ratio ended 2025 at 221%, or 204% excluding the IPO proceeds planned for return, and characterized the capital position as “highly robust.” He also noted S&P upgraded Prudential’s financial strength rating to AA, which he said recognized the resilience of the balance sheet and growing capital generation.
About Prudential Public (NYSE:PUK)
Prudential Public (NYSE: PUK) is the New York listing for Prudential plc, a London‑headquartered international life insurance and financial services group. The company provides a range of long‑term savings, retirement and protection products designed for individual and institutional customers. Its core offerings include life insurance, pensions and annuities, group protection, and wealth and asset management services delivered through both proprietary and third‑party distribution channels.
Prudential operates across multiple regions, with significant focus on fast‑growing markets in Asia and Africa alongside its established businesses in Europe and other international markets.
