Last checked at 
* Operating profit down 3% at 2.2 bln stg
* Assets under management rise 7% to 1.3 trln stg
* Shares down 0.3%
(Recasts on CEO comments, adds shares and analyst)
By Carolyn Cohn
LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - The world is likely to emerge
from the coronavirus crisis in an uneven K-shaped recovery that
could leave some parts of the economy behind, Legal & General's
CEO said on Wednesday as the British insurer reported a
dip in full-year profit.
A K-shaped scenario is one in which some sectors, such as
manufacturing, bounce back sharply while others, such as
tourism, continue to struggle.
"The thing that worries us is the K-shaped recovery," L&G
Chief Executive Nigel Wilson told Reuters. "We do need to make
sure that levelling up does not mean levelling up for the few."
The life insurer and asset manager, which invests directly
in companies as well as investment markets, aims to counter such
a scenario with investments including a regeneration project in
the northern city of Sheffield, Wilson said.
The company said operating profit dropped by 3% to 2.2
billion pounds ($3.05 billion) last year, citing a
pandemic-related decline in housebuilding and demand for life
insurance products.
Its L&G Capital arm, which includes housebuilder CALA Homes,
suffered a 24% drop in operating profit.
Individual annuity and lifetime mortgage sales volumes in
Britain also fell, L&G said. In the United States, L&G suffered
from increased claims and set aside an extra 110 million pounds
for further potential pandemic-related claims this year.
However, assets under management at the insurer's fund
management arm, one of the biggest investors in the UK stock
market, rose 7% to 1.3 trillion pounds after 20 billion pounds
in net inflows.
L&G shares were down 0.3% at 0849 GMT.
Barclays analysts said earnings were in line with
expectations and reiterated their "overweight" rating on the
stock.
Rival life insurer Phoenix, which specialises in
policies closed to new customers, this week reported a 48% leap
in operating profit after a large acquisition last year.
L&G said it would pay a full-year dividend of 17.57 pence
per share, unchanged from a year earlier.
($1 = 0.7209 pounds)
(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn
Editing by Simon Jessop and David Goodman)
