UPDATE 2-New Prudential CEO Wells enjoys forecast-beating start

(Corrects paragraph 6 to show Wells moved from Nashville, not Michigan)

* H1 operating profit up 17 pct, beats forecasts

* Dividend up 10 pct

* Strong start for new CEO Wells

By Simon Jessop and Sinead Cruise

LONDON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Mike Wells hailed forecast-beating half-year earnings in his first set of results since taking charge of British insurer Prudential (HKSE: 2378.HK - news) , saying he was confident he could build on an ambitious global expansion drive started by his predecessor.

Operating profit jumped 17 percent, boosted by strong performances across the firm's main Asian, U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . and UK markets. The figure of 1.9 billion pounds ($2.96 billion) beat a company supplied analyst consensus of 1.7 billion pounds.

Wells, 55, was promoted to succeed Tidjane Thiam as chief executive two months ago after Thiam left to head Credit Suisse (Other OTC: CDSSF - news) .

Thiam, who led Prudential for just over six years and oversaw the company's transformation from UK insurance heavyweight to one of the most diversified global insurers, was seen as a big loss to the group.

Wells said the 167-year-old firm had seen double-digit profit growth across all of its main markets, helping underpin a 10 percent rise in the firm's interim dividend to 12.31 pence a share.

Wells, who moved to London from Nashville to take the top role, encouraged the heads of his Asian and UK units to answer questions from reporters to demonstrate the company's broad management strength.

"In the past few months, I've gone from being one of (the) players to the coach, and I'm delighted to report I've inherited a great team," said Wells, who is a U.S. citizen and an ice hockey fan.

Wells said the robust results demonstrated the "disciplined execution" of the group's global growth strategy at a time of management transition.

One of the main factors has been its performance in Asia, where it is looking to tap into demand for insurance from a growing middle class that is currently relatively under-insured.

While there had been some concern about the impact of slowing growth in China, Wells and Asia chief Tony Wilkey said recent stock market volatility had not hit their business, and they were upbeat on the outlook after a 17 percent regional profit jump.

Its U.S. market was equally as strong, with operating profit up 11 percent, buoyed by demand from retiring "Baby Boomers" for variable annuities. Demand for life insurance products in Britain also rose, boosting profit 19 percent.

After trading down 1.7 percent at its lows prior to the results announcement, shares in Prudential were up 2.4 percent at 1156 GMT in a 0.7 percent weaker FTSE 100.

"All of the key financial metrics were ahead of both our and the market's expectations, highlighting the strength of Pru (HKSE: 2378-OL.HK - news) 's positioning across the main financial markets in the U.S., UK and Asia," Shore Capital analyst Eamonn Flanagan wrote in a note to clients, who has a "buy" rating on the stock. ($1 = 0.6414 pounds) (Editing by Keith Weir and David Goodman)