Legal & General said its operating profit for the first half of the year was £941m, boosted by its bulk annuity business.

That was some way ahead of analyst expectations of £834m.

The insurance and pension firm said it had benefited from higher UK interest rates which have improved the funding positions of DB pension schemes.

Matt Britzman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said: “The market for transferring pension risk remains a hot one, and L&G has executed £6.8bn of new business year-to-date, at decent rates.

“Most of the work here is done in the UK where the market is huge, but there’s plenty of opportunity further afield in areas like the US and Canada where L&G is just a tiny player right now. International expansion remains a key future growth driver, across the different business units.”

Legal & General's retirement division recorded premiums of £5bn, up from £4.4bn in the first half of 2022.

Its Solvency II coverage ratio – which indicates the insurance company’s financial health - stood at 230%, showcasing a surplus of £9.2bn.

That was an improvement from the first half of 2022, when the ratio was 212%.

The operating profit was slightly below the £958m recorded in the first six months of 2022, but the firm said it was making positive progress toward its five-year ambitions set for 2020-2024.

Outgoing chief executive Nigel Wilson said: "We remain on track to achieve our five-year ambitions and deliver attractive returns for our shareholders.”

It declared an interim dividend of 5.71p, a 5% increase on last year’s first-half dividend of 5.44p.

Meanwhile Legal & General Investment Management recorded a 10% fall in AUM to £1.2trn pounds, reflecting market conditions and external net outflows in the first half of £12.3bn. 

Legal & General group has appointed António Simões as its new group CEO to replace Sir Nigel Wilson who is retiring. He will take up his post on 1 January with Sir Nigel remaining as chief executive in the meantime.