Last checked at 17 May 2018 07:00
NEWS RELEASE | www.justgroupplc.co.uk |
17 May 2018
JUST GROUP plc
BUSINESS UPDATE FOR THE 3 MONTHS ENDED 31 MARCH 2018
A STRONG START TO THE YEAR
Just Group plc1 ("Just", "the Group") announces a business update for the 3 months ended 31 March 2018.
Highlights
· | Retirement Income sales for Q1 18 were 43% higher compared to Q1 17, driven by Defined Benefit De-risking ("DB") |
· | Q1 18 DB sales were £249m, up 99% compared to Q1 17. We have seen a marked increase in opportunities this year as employee benefit consultants proactively manage the industry pipeline and as the market becomes less seasonal |
· | Guaranteed Income for Life ("GIfL") sales were up 8% to £188m in Q1 18. GIfL continues to benefit from regulatory initiatives to encourage shopping around. We continue to invest in HUB, our corporate solutions business, to grow our addressable market further |
· | Q1 18 Lifetime Mortgage ("LTM") advances of £151m were up 42%, in line with the growth in Retirement Income. LTM advances amounted to 33% of Retirement Income sales, as we continue to optimise matching |
Just Group new business2,3 | 3 months to 31/03/18 | 3 months to 31/03/17 | Change |
£m | £m | % | |
Defined Benefit De-risking | 249 | 125 | 99 |
Guaranteed Income for Life | 188 | 174 | 8 |
Care Plans | 17 | 17 | 2 |
Retirement Income sales | 454 | 317 | 43 |
Drawdown | 11 | 12 | (2) |
Total Retirement sales | 465 | 328 | 42 |
Protection | 1 | 2 | (50) |
Lifetime mortgage loans advanced | 151 | 107 | 42 |
Total new business sales | 617 | 436 | 41 |
Rodney Cook, Group Chief Executive, said:
"We have taken full advantage of buoyant market conditions to make a strong start to the year, especially in DB. We have maintained our financial discipline and are in a position to price even more selectively over the balance of the year. The pipeline remains strong across our main products, particularly in DB De-risking, and we look forward to the remainder of the year."
New business sales by quarter (£m)
3 months to: | 31 Mar 2018 | 31 Dec 2017 | 30 Sep 2017 | 30 Jun 2017 | 31 Mar 2017 | 31 Dec 2016 | 30 Sep 2016 | 30 Jun 2016 | 31 Mar 20164 |
Defined Benefit De-risking | 249 | 434 | 269 | 170 | 125 | 365 | 414 | 121 | 43 |
Guaranteed Income for Life | 188 | 213 | 217 | 216 | 174 | 174 | 207 | 234 | 163 |
Care Plans | 17 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 29 | 29 |
Retirement Income | 454 | 666 | 504 | 403 | 317 | 559 | 641 | 384 | 235 |
Drawdown | 11 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 2 |
Total Retirement sales | 465 | 681 | 518 | 414 | 328 | 569 | 650 | 388 | 237 |
Protection | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
LTM loans advanced | 151 | 142 | 137 | 124 | 107 | 95 | 143 | 173 | 149 |
Total new business sales | 617 | 826 | 656 | 539 | 436 | 665 | 795 | 562 | 387 |
Notes
1 | The company changed its name from JRP Group plc to Just Group plc at the AGM on the 18th May 2017 |
2 | Totals and numbers in table are subject to rounding |
3 | Protection closed to new business in Q4 17, and Q1 18 Protection new business sales represent existing applications in the pipeline |
4 | The merger of Just Retirement and Partnership was required for accounting purposes to be treated as an acquisition by Just Retirement of Partnership with an effective date of the beginning of April 2016. Accordingly, the new business sales for the quarter ended 31 March 2016 are presented on a pro forma basis as though the merger took place at the beginning of January 2016 |
Enquiries
Investors / Analysts
James Pearce, Director of Group Finance
Telephone: +44 (0) 7715 085 099 james.pearce@wearejust.co.uk
Paul Kelly, Investor Relations Manager Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7444 8127 paul.kelly@wearejust.co.uk
|
Media
Stephen Lowe, Group Communications Director
Telephone: +44 (0) 1737 827 301 press.office@wearejust.co.uk
Temple Bar Advisory Alex Child-Villiers William Barker Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7002 1080 |
FINANCIAL CALENDAR
| DATE |
Interim results for the 6 months ended 30 June 2018 | 6 September 2018 |
A copy of this announcement will be available on the Group's website www.justgroupplc.co.uk
JUST GROUP PLC
GROUP COMMUNICATIONS
Vale House, Roebuck Close
Bancroft Road, Reigate
Surrey RH2 7RU