Royal & Sun beats expectations

Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group predicted a “strong” second-half after completing asset sales to bolster its capital.

The group’s shares climbed as much as 5.5%.

Pre-tax operating profit at Royal & Sun fell 14% to stg£301 million (€448m) in the first half, beating the stg£296m median estimate of seven analysts.

The insurer had a net loss of stg£83m compared with a stg£97m profit the year before.