AMP chief executive Craig Meller says the wealth manager's turnaround remains on track despite a slide in its first half profit.
The company's net profit fell three per cent to $382 million in the six months to June 30, as it spent millions on improving efficiency within the business, and incurred costs on the integration of AXA Asia Pacific, which it bought in 2011.
But underlying profit rose 16 per cent to $510 million amid double digit earnings growth across the company's divisions.
Shareholders cheered the result, pushing AMP shares up 23 cents, or 4.2 per cent, to $5.75.
Mr Meller said the company was making good progress on improving its performance after being forced to issue a profit downgrade last year due to problems with its life insurance division.
"We have made good progress on our strategy to be a leaner, more efficient and increasingly customer-driven organisation," he said.
The life insurance business continued to face headwinds, but the division was working to retain customers, Mr Meller said.
"Improving the performance of the insurance business remains a key area of focus as we introduce a series of actions to improve the management of claims and customer retention in order to deliver benefits to both our customers and shareholders," he said.
"These include improved customer retention campaigns and additional resources to handle customer claims more effectively and to help income protection customers get back to work more quickly."
Earnings from the company's core wealth management business were up 16 per cent from a year ago, while the wealth protection business lifted earnings more than 40 per cent.
Mr Meller said the company's earnings had been boosted by its partnerships with businesses overseas.
"It is particularly pleasing to see AMP's offshore strategy already delivering good cashflows while building strong growth potential in the long term from partnerships with national champions in China and Japan."
AMP'S EFFORTS TO LIFT PERFORMANCE DENT BOTTOM LINE
* Half year net profit of $382 million, down three pct from $393 million in 2013
* Underlying profit of $510 million, up 16 pct from $440 million
* Interim dividend of 12.5 cents per share, up from 11.5 cents per share
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