British insurer Phoenix Group reported its first-half earnings and total cash ahead of market expectations on Monday, boosted by its pensions and savings business, but halted the sale process of its SunLife business due to market uncertainty.

Phoenix reported total cash generation of 950 million pounds ($1.25 billion) in the six-month period ended June 30, surpassing expectations of about 739 million pounds in a company-compiled consensus.

The company, which traditionally specialises in buying up and managing books of life insurance business closed to new customers, said it was confident in delivering total cash at the top-end of its previous target range of 1.4 billion to 1.5 billion pounds in 2024.

The insurer's half-yearly adjusted operating profit increased 15% to 360 million pounds, though analysts had forecast an earnings of about 348 million pounds.

($1 = 0.7603 pounds)

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)