LONDON (Reuters) - Prudential (PRU.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said insurance sales had risen 15 percent in 2005, and its chief executive sidestepped bid speculation, saying Britain's second-largest life insurer had a bright future on its own.

Prudential posted sales of 2.15 billion pounds ($3.83 billion) at constant exchange rates on Wednesday, compared with 1.85 billion in 2004 and in line with an average forecast of 2.13 billion in a poll of 20 analysts conducted by the company.

Chief Executive Mark Tucker refused to comment on media speculation that Prudential might be a target for Aviva (AV.L: Quote, Profile, Research) but insisted the company could thrive on its own.

"We believe there is a tremendous upside in our business and that we have an independent future," Tucker said in a conference call with journalists.

Britain's largest insurer, Aviva may be interested in buying Prudential to boost sluggish growth in its home life market and gain a bigger footprint in Asia and the United States, analysts have suggested.

Tucker, who took the helm at Prudential last March after investor discontent over the performance of his predecessor, Jonathan Bloomer, is under pressure to deliver on a strategy aimed at increasing sales of products such as annuities by tapping into the post-war baby-boom generation which is approaching retirement.

Prudential shares were up 0.27 percent at 552 pence at 11:10 a.m., valuing the firm at about 13.2 billion pounds, while the blue chip FTSE index was up 0.69 percent.

Tucker said the company remained interested in making small acquisitions to increase the market profile for its U.S unit, Jackson National, which posted a 13 percent rise in sales to 515 million pounds.

This is cache, read story here