UK insurer Hastings reports higher nine-month operating profit

(Reuters) - UK insurer Hastings Group Holdings Plc (HSTG.L) reported an increase of about 19 percent in operating profit for the first nine months of the year, driven by a rise in gross written premiums.

Hastings, which listed on the London Stock Exchange last month, said operating profit rose to 93.8 million pounds for the nine months ended Sept. 30 from 79 million pounds a year earlier.

Gross written premiums rose 26 percent to 454.3 million pounds.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)