By Lars Mucklejohn Pan-African financial services group Old Mutual has said its profits surged as much as 45 per cent last year due to “exceptional growth” in new business. The London-listed group, which is Africa’s largest insurer by assets, said in a trading statement ahead of its full-year results that its profit after tax likely came in at as much as 7.59bn rand (£318m) in the 12 months to 31 December 2023. It pinned the “robust” results from operations on “strong operational performance underpinned by exceptional growth in new business and value of new business as we continue to gain mark…