(Reuters) — Italy's Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. expects to hit its 2015 targets a year ahead of schedule and raise its dividend payout after cutting costs and selling assets to focus on its main property/casualty and life insurance businesses in Europe.

Chief Executive Mario Greco, who promised to shake up Generali to improve profitability when he took over in August 2012, unveiled a turnaround plan at the start of last year centered on cutting debt through the sale of noncore businesses such as its U.S. life insurance arm and Swiss private bank BSI.

The plan set the target of increasing operating return on equity to 13% by the end of 2015, netting €750 million ($939.38 million) of cost savings and reaching a solvency ratio — a key industry measure — of more than 160%.

"At the end of the year it will be possible to declare the whole plan achieved," Mr. Greco said on a conference call with investors in London.

Europe's No. 3 insurer said the measures taken in the last two years had strengthened its balance sheet, allowing it to remove a previous dividend payout cap of 40% of earnings.

It did not give an exact range on what share of future net profits it could return to shareholders, but Mr. Greco said it could give an indication of available funds for this year's results.

"With business as it is today, the maximum cash (for distribution) is in a ballpark range of €1.4 billion to €1.5 billion ($1.75 billion to $1.88 billion)," he said.

Brokers Kepler Cheuvreux said in a client note forwarded by a fund manager to Reuters that it expected a payout ratio of 45% on 2014 results and 50% on 2015 numbers.

At 1454 GMT, Generali shares were up 1.2%, while the European insurance index was up 0.4%.

A new business plan to be presented in May of next year will be based on growing the company's existing businesses. "It will not include acquisitions," Mr. Greco said.

Many of Europe's leading insurers, such as Zurich Insurance Group Ltd., have had to focus on strengthening profitability as low interest rates eat away at investment returns.

Since Mr. Greco's arrival two years ago, Generali's operational results have largely refocused on the core business of the group in Italy, Germany, France and central and Eastern Europe.