Aviva share price: First-quarter VNB up 14%

Aviva Plc (LON:AV) has this morning released its first-quarter statement, which follows the company’s merger with Friends Life which completed last month.

**Highlights from Aviva’s statement:**
Mark Wilson, Group Chief Executive Officer, said:
“Aviva’s turnaround is on track and ahead of schedule. It’s been a busy quarter. We have completed the acquisition of Friends Life and at the same time delivered an improvement in our key metrics. Value of new business is up, our general insurance combined operating ratio has improved and our IFRS book value has grown over the quarter. In the face of unpredictable global markets, we continue to improve the Group’s resilience.
“Detailed plans to integrate Friends Life are well underway and whilst this is a challenging and complex project, we are confident of timely progress. We expect 2015 to be a year of continued delivery of our turnaround plan.”
The acquisition of Friends Life was completed on 10 April 2015, after the period to which this trading statement applies. Therefore, unless otherwise stated, all numbers outside of the Friends Life section are for Aviva standalone.
Life insurance: Value of new business (VNB) grew 14%1 to £247 million (1Q14: £224 million); UK Life VNB grew 15% to £103 million (1Q14: £89 million), driven by higher equity release and pensions, which more than offset a reduction in annuity VNB
Friends Life: Friends Life transaction completed on 10 April 2015 and detailed integration plans are being implemented; Friends Life VNB declined to £20 million (1Q14: £32 million), driven by the expected decline in retirement income VNB following last year’s Budget announcement.
**More to follow…**
As of 07:12 BST, Thursday, 07 May, Aviva plc share price is 513.50p.