Legal & General's full-year earnings grow on annuity sales

Legal & General reported an 8% increase in annual pre-tax profit to £1.2bn as pension deals lifted annuity sales.The insurer said operating profit increased 10% to £1.28bn but missed the £1.31bn forecast in a poll of analysts supplied by the company. Earnings per share climbed 10% to 16.7p.Annuity sales jumped 28% to £44bn, supported by sales of bulk annuities, products that transfer the risk of defined benefit pension schemes from companies to insurers.Insurance premiums advanced 8% to £3bn while Savings assets increased 10% to £124.2bn. The Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) business saw its total assets gain 16% to £708.5bn revenue rise 9% to £645m.The full-year dividend was raised 21% to 11.25p per share."The five global macro trends driving our strategy - ageing populations, globalisation of asset markets, welfare reform, digital connectivity and bank retrenchment - create long term growth opportunities, which we position our businesses to capture," said chief executive Nigel Wilson.