Aviva plc (AVVIY) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Okay. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for our half year results presentation. I'm going to start by sharing a few key highlights before Charlotte takes you through the results in more detail. Then we'll cover why we are so confident in Aviva's long-term potential. And as always, we will open for questions.

So let me begin with the key messages. Aviva has delivered another excellent performance in our first half of 2026, once again extending our track record of strong profitable growth. We continue to accelerate towards 75% capital-light, unlocking the potential of Direct Line and building further momentum in our #1 Wealth business. All of this underpins our confidence in delivering the ambitious 3-year targets. And our diversified model is a key enabler for long-term success, which is why I am equally confident in our ability to the sustain strong earnings growth well beyond 2028.

Now let's get to the results. As you can see, it's been a great first half. Operating profit is up 24%, with strong double-digit growth in operating earnings per share. And we are driving higher returns with IFRS return on equity above 20%. For shareholders, we completed the latest share buyback last month. And today, we are announcing an interim dividend of 14p per share, up 7%. We are also stepping up for our 25