Prudential sales rise 10% on Asia growth

British insurance giant Prudential said Tuesday that sales rose 10 percent in the first nine months of 2011 compared with the same part of last year thanks to strong performances across Asia. The company said insurance sales totalled £2.7 billion (3.15 billion euros, $4.34 billion), up from £2.46 billion in the first nine months of 2010. The result beat analyst expectations for sales of £2.675 billion, according to Dow Jones Newswires. "Prudential has delivered strong results in the third quarter in a volatile and challenging environment," said chief executive Tidjane Thiam. "Our main strength is Asia. We grow anywhere between 15 percent and 25 percent per year in Asia, which shows business doubles every three to five years. We're still well on track to do that." Thiam added that he expected Prudential to overcome economic turbulence in Europe. "Whatever happens in Europe, we'll be less affected than others ... We'll do better than others because everybody else is more exposed," he said, adding that the company's exposure to the troubled eurozone economies was limited.