Old Mutual steps up African expansion Old Mutual is stepping up plans for expansion into fast-growing African markets, identifying several countries in which it hopes to sell mass market insurance products such as funeral plans and disability cover. The London-listed insurer, which operates in six countries in the continent as well as South Africa, is considering entering markets with low levels of insurance penetration such as Tanzania and Ghana. The proposals come after Old Mutual, which has been under pressure from shareholders to sell assets acquired during its aggressive pre-financial crisis expansion, made its biggest disposal yet in December by agreeing to sell its Nordic businesses for £2.1bn. "Having stabilised the group over the past couple of years we're looking to where we can expand," said Julian Roberts, chief executive. This is a 10-year strategy, a beginning of a journey. He added: "You see these African countries where they're growing very fast. There are more people in the market, they're spending more and they need savings, investments and insurance products. Analysts said there were still uncertainties about the overall strategy of the Anglo-South African insurer. They said it was now unclear whether Old Mutual would float its US asset management arm and sell its 52 per cent stake in Nedbank, the South African lender, which contributed £755m to adjusted operating profits of £1.52bn. Statutory pre-tax profits fell from £1.1bn to £994m, including a £264m goodwill writedown at the group's asset management business in the US because it was hit by outflows and Old Mutual's growth expectations there were too high. The group earned £3.58bn in premiums last year, up from £3.46bn a year ago. Any expansion into Africa by Old Mutual would be from a low base. The group's presence in Namibia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Botswana and Malawi accounted for only about 3 per cent of profits in 2011. Old Mutual is to enter Nigeria, agreeing last month to make a small acquisition, although Mr Roberts said the expansion would be predominantly organic. "We're not looking to just have dots in the map of every African country," he added. Several companies in other sectors are eyeing Africa expansion in an attempt to capitalise on robust economic growth. Standard Bank this week disclosed a 20 per cent rise in profit before direct taxation, helped by a focus on African countries and asset disposals in other jurisdictions. Meanwhile, Old Mutual said on Friday that the Nordic disposals would help it repay £1.7bn of debt by the end of the year, exceeding its original £1.5bn target. A final dividend of 3.5p a share gives a total ordinary payout of 5p, up by a quarter from 2010. The group has also proposed a special dividend of 18p a share. Diluted earnings per share were 11.7p compared with losses a year ago of 6.1p. Shares in Old Mutual closed up 2.5p at 165.2p.