LONDON--Prudential PLC (PRU.LN) Wednesday reaffirmed its dividend growth target as it recorded a 19% rise in group new business profit.

The financial services firm's new business profit totaled 1.97 billion pounds ($2.40 billion) for the first nine months of the year, versus GBP1.66 billion a year earlier, with annual premium equivalent, or APE, sales rising 13% to GBP4.55 billion.

Prudential said the new business trends experienced in the first half of the year have continued in the third quarter of 2016, driven by Asia and selective participation in the U.S. and the U.K.

Prudential continues to benefit from the favorable structural opportunities in its key markets and its well established leadership positions, it said.

"During the current period of heightened macro-economic and other external uncertainties, our performance is well supported by the diversification of our international operations, our focus on high-quality sources of income and our broad currency mix," it said.

Prudential said it will maintain its focus on delivering a growing ordinary dividend, aiming to increase the dividend by 5% per annum.

Write to Razak Musah Baba at razak.baba@wsj.com; Twitter: @Raztweet

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 16, 2016 02:54 ET (07:54 GMT)

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