Aviva year profit up 3 percent

Aviva, Britain's second-biggest insurer by market value, had a 2009 operating profit of 3.48 billion pounds ($5.24 billion), up from 3.37 billion pounds the previous year, the company said on Thursday.

Analysts had expected profits to fall to 3.01 billion pounds, according to the average of 10 forecasts collected by the company.

Aviva is paying a total dividend of 24 pence per share compared with 33 pence in 2008.

(Reporting by Myles Neligan; editing by James Davey)