Hansard Regulatory News (HSD)

7 November 2019

Hansard Global plc

Trading update for the quarter ended 30 September 2019

Hansard Global plc ("Hansard" or "the Group"), the specialist long-term savings provider, issues its trading update for the period from 1 July 2019 to 30 September 2019 (Q1 2020), except where indicated.

Summary

·; New business for the quarter to 30 September 2019 was £35.8m in PVNBP ("Present Value of New Business Premiums") terms, 9.8% higher than Q1 2019;

·; Primary area of growth continues to come from our locally licensed business relationship in the UAE;

·; Assets under administration up marginally on previous quarter to £1.09 billion.

Gordon Marr, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We are pleased to have started our financial year successfully with our new business from the UAE continuing to perform strongly. Following the recent acquisition of our Investment Manager licence in Japan, our primary objective for this financial year is to finalise our new proposition and operational model with a number of potential distribution partners and to launch to new business."

For further information:

Hansard Global plc +44 (0) 1624 688 000

Gordon Marr, Group Chief Executive Officer

Tim Davies, Chief Financial Officer

Email: investor-relations@hansard.com

Camarco +44 (0) 203 757 4980

Ben Woodford, Kimberley Taylor, Rebecca Noonan

Hansard Global plc

NEW BUSINESS RESULTS FOR THE quarter ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2019

OVERVIEW

The Group continues to focus on the distribution of regular and single premium products in a range of jurisdictions around the world.

In Present Value of New Business Premiums ("PVNBP") terms, levels of new business in Q1 2020 were 9.8% higher than Q1 2019. The primary area of growth continues to come from regular premium savings in the UAE.

New Business Flows

New business flows for Q1 2020 on our key internal metrics are summarised as follows: 

·; Present Value of New Business Premiums ("PVNBP")

New business flows for Q1 2020 on the basis of PVNBP are analysed in the following two tables as follows:

Overall, it was pleasing to see a 9.8% growth in our new business for the first quarter of the financial year. We have directed additional key account management activities towards our top distributors in the Middle East and Africa and in Latin America and this has produced very positive results.

In terms of business mix, we continued to focus on regular premium savings rather than pursue increasingly competitive single premium business. This resulted in our regular premiums rising 45.8% and single premiums falling 22.8% in Q1 2020 compared to Q1 2019.

Our Middle East and Africa region continued to do well, driven primarily by our strategic relationship in the UAE. New business was up 79.5% for the quarter and 6% up on our annual run rate for 2019.

The Rest of World region was 22.0% lower than Q1 2019 primarily due to lower single premium business.

In Latin America, new business was up 24.3% as we continued to drive relationships in that region, supported by our Hansard Worldwide subsidiary in The Bahamas.

As communicated in previous announcements, our current focus in the Far East region is to launch our new Japanese proposition.

Assets under Administration ("AUA")

The composition and value of AuA is based upon the assets selected by or on behalf of contract holders to meet their savings and investment needs. Reflecting the wide geographical spread of the Group's customer base, the majority of premium contributions and of AuA are designated in currencies other than sterling. Over 60% of Group AuA are denominated in US dollars.

The total of such assets is affected by the level of new premium contributions received from new and existing policy contracts, the amount of assets withdrawn by contract holders, charges and the effect of investment market and currency movements. These factors ultimately affect the level of fund-based income earned by the Group.

Net withdrawals are typically experienced in Hansard Europe dac ("Hansard Europe"), which closed to new business in 2013.

During Q1 2020 AuA increased by £12.7m (1%) to £1,092.4m, reflecting relatively stable global stock markets and further weakening of sterling against the US dollar.

The movement in AuA is split as follows between Hansard International and Hansard Europe:

Results for the HALF-year ENDing 31 DECEMBER 2019

New business results for the half year ending 31 December 2019 are expected to be announced on 24 January 2020. Trading results for the half year are expected to be announced on 5 March 2020.

Outlook

Our second quarter to date has maintained our positive momentum and we expect to see similar growth continue throughout the course of our financial year. We continue to work hard at progressing our new Japanese proposition and will update the market when we achieve additional key milestones such as the signing of formal distribution agreements.

Notes to editors:

·; Hansard Global plc is the holding company of the Hansard Group of companies. The Company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in December 2006. The Group is a specialist long-term savings provider, based in the Isle of Man.

·; The Group offers a range of flexible and tax-efficient investment products within a life assurance contract wrapper, designed to appeal to affluent, international investors.

·; The Group utilises a controlled cost distribution model via a network of independent financial advisors, and the retail operations of certain financial institutions who provide access to their clients in more than 170 countries. The Group's distribution model is supported by Hansard OnLine, a multi-language internet platform, and is scalable.

·; The principal geographic markets in which the Group currently services contract holders and financial advisors are the Middle East & Africa, the Far East and Latin America. These markets are served by Hansard International Limited and Hansard Worldwide Limited.

·; Hansard Europe dac previously operated in Western Europe but closed to new business with effect from 30 June 2013. 

·; The Group's objective is to grow by attracting new business and positioning itself to adapt rapidly to market trends and conditions. The scalability and flexibility of the Group's operations allow it to enter or develop new geographic markets and exploit growth opportunities within existing markets often without the need for significant further investment.

Forward-looking statements:

This announcement may contain certain forward-looking statements with respect to certain of Hansard Global plc's plans and its current goals and expectations relating to future financial condition, performance and results. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties because they relate to future events and circumstances which are beyond Hansard Global plc's control. As a result, Hansard Global plc's actual future condition, performance and results may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations set out in Hansard Global plc's forward-looking statements. Hansard Global plc does not undertake to update forward-looking statements contained in this announcement or any other forward-looking statement it may make. No statement in this announcement is intended to be a profit forecast or be relied upon as a guide for future performance.

This announcement contains inside information which is disclosed in accordance with the Market Abuse Regime.

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