Insurer Just Group posts 27% drop in first half operating profit, pays no dividend

LONDON (Reuters) - British specialist pension provider Just Group <JUSTJ.L> posted a 27% fall in first-half underlying operating profit to 114 million pounds due to a drop in new business profit, it said on Wednesday.

Just Group, which specialises in annuities for people with a reduced life expectancy, has suffered from new rules from Britain's Prudential Regulation Authority requiring more capital behind lifetime mortgages, one of its key products.

Just Group, which did not pay a dividend last year, said it did not intend to pay an interim dividend.

(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn, editing by Sinead Cruise)