Aviva, a leading global insurance giant, has said that it has recorded 6 per cent rise in operating profit on Thursday, which is higher than market expectations.

Aviva is in the middle of a turnaround plan that has seen 2,000 lay-offs and sales of underperforming businesses in various countries in Asia. The company said that its operating expenses fell 7 percent and cost saving targets for the year was ahead of plans, indicating that the company might restore the confidence of its investors.

Aviva said in an earnings statement on Thursday that it faced lost 60 million pound due to floods in the UK. Chief Executive Mark Wilson, who joined the company a year earlier, has been working to win the confidence of the company's investors. The company had frozen pay of its senior employees after shareholders opposed remuneration proposals. The management is planning to reinstate bonus this year for its staff.

"We'll pay for performance... We will be paying bonuses for this year and I think the shareholders will be quite OK with that scenario," Wilson said.

Aviva's shares jumped more than 8 percent as investors welcomed the positive figures from the company.