M&G Plc reported a jump in operating profit even as assets slumped in the first half of the year.

Adjusted operating profit jumped 31% year on year to £390 million ($482 million), according to a statement Wednesday, beating the consensus forecast of analyst polled by Bloomberg. That’s as assets under management and administration fell to £332.8 billion from £342 billion at the end of 2022.

The firm increased its interim dividend to 6.5 pence per share from 6.2 pence per share a year earlier. M&G’s shares were up 4.2% at 8:48 a.m. in London.

M&G, which spun out of Prudential Plc in 2019, has been trying to grow via acquisitions and by getting into areas such as wealth and digital advice. It also plans to make a bigger push in European private assets and wants to attract more institutional investors in the region.

“The money that came out was lower margin than what came in,” Chief Executive Officer Andrea Rossi said in a telephone interview, referring to client flows. “I’m happy with what we have done in the high margin business.”

M&G’s asset management arm recorded net outflows of £100 million, compared with inflows of £1.1 billion in the same period a year earlier.

--With assistance from Sam Nagarajan.