INSURANCE firm Aviva sought to ease concerns over trading yesterday after it reported a five per cent rise in sales and described demand as ‘‘resilient’’.

The firm, which will ditch its UK trading name of Norwich Union in June, posted worldwide sales of £10.3bn in the three months to March 31, with life and pension sales climbing 11 per cent to £9.57bn.

Aviva said it had significantly enhanced its capital position over the past three months, with a regulatory surplus of £2.5bn at the end of last month, up from £2bn in December.

Shares in the company opened more than seven per cent higher yesterday following the update, and closed last night with Aviva ahead 13.75p at 287p.

The rally represented a reversal of fortunes for Aviva, after shares slumped 25 per cent in March on Aviva’s decision to maintain its dividend, despite ongoing market worries about the industry’s solvency position.

Chief executive Andrew Moss has said the company continued to manage its capital position effectively.

He added: ‘‘It’s encouraging to see that people are continuing to save with companies they trust, like Aviva. Sales are resilient and we’ve taken action to improve margins in key markets.’’ Aviva faced criticism from unions earlier this month when it announced 571 job losses at its flagship Norwich Union base in York, which is equivalent to 15 per cent of its 3,800 workforce in the city.

The job losses, which came out of the blue for employees, were the fourth large round of cuts by the company in less than three years, but senior managers reaffirmed the company’s commitment to staying in York.

“Revealing its results yesterday, Aviva said in the UK, life and pensions new business sales were 12 per cent lower at £12.5bn, which it said reflected its move away from lower margin products and its writing of new business above target rates of return.

The company’s portfolio of businesses across Europe saw life and pensions sales increase by 11 per cent to £4.73bn, supported by the strength of the Euro. In North America, total sales increased by 84 per cent to £1.93bn and were up 33 per cent on a local currency basis.