Last checked at 6 Feb 2019 07:00
NEWS RELEASE | www.justgroupplc.co.uk |
6 February 2019
JUST GROUP plc
BUSINESS UPDATE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2018
Just Group plc ("Just", the "Group") announces a business update for the year ended 31 December 2018.
Highlights
· Retirement Income sales for FY18 were 15% higher than for FY17, driven by the continued growth in Defined Benefit De-risking ("DB") sales. |
· DB sales for FY18 were up 32% to £1,314m, reflecting a strong year for the market. Following the record volumes in earlier quarters, we were able to be increasingly selective on the business we transacted in Q418. We also saw the market show similar pricing discipline. 2018 has been a record year for DB sales across the market, and expectations are that 2019 will be another strong year. |
· Guaranteed Income for Life ("GIfL") sales for FY18 were down 4% to £786m. Our volumes slowed in Q418 as pricing increases implemented following the Prudential Regulation Authority's publication of CP13/18 took effect. Shopping around continues to grow as a proportion of total market sales and reached 54% in Q318. |
· Lifetime Mortgage ("LTM") advances of £602m were up 18% on FY17, in line with the growth in Retirement Income sales. LTM market growth was strong as both customer appetite and supply from insurers increased. |
Just Group new business1 | 12 months to 31/12/18 | 12 months to 31/12/17 | Change |
£m | £m | % | |
Defined Benefit De-risking | 1,314 | 998 | 32 |
Guaranteed Income for Life | 786 | 821 | (4) |
Care Plans | 73 | 72 | 2 |
Retirement Income sales | 2,173 | 1,890 | 15 |
Drawdown | 51 | 51 | 0 |
Total Retirement sales | 2,224 | 1,941 | 15 |
Protection2 | 1 | 6 | NM |
Lifetime mortgage loans advanced | 602 | 510 | 18 |
Total new business sales | 2,827 | 2,457 | 15 |
Rodney Cook, Group Chief Executive, said:
"I am pleased to report on an excellent year for Just. Despite the challenges we faced we have achieved another year of double digit sales growth and helped more customers than ever. The significant regulatory uncertainty caused by CP13/18 has not distracted our colleagues, our distributors or our customers from the quality of our products and services and I thank all of them for their continued support. As previously announced, following the publication of PS31/18, the Board is continuing to consider the optimal capital mix and level for the Group in order to provide a prudent base to support our new business franchise, and to establish an appropriate dividend policy for shareholders.
We remain focused on our disciplined pricing strategy and on achieving attractive returns on capital from new business and we have been increasingly selective in all our three main markets during the second half of the year in order to maximise returns.
We look forward to presenting our full year results in March."
New business sales by quarter1 (£m)
3 months to: | 31 Dec 2018 | 30 Sep 2018 | 30 Jun 2018 | 31 Mar 2018 | 31 Dec 2017 | 30 Sep 2017 | 30 Jun 2017 | 31 Mar 2017 | 31 Dec 2016 |
Defined Benefit De-risking | 233 | 363 | 469 | 249 | 434 | 269 | 170 | 125 | 365 |
Guaranteed Income for Life | 159 | 201 | 238 | 188 | 213 | 217 | 216 | 174 | 174 |
Care Plans | 21 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 19 |
Retirement Income | 413 | 581 | 725 | 454 | 666 | 504 | 403 | 317 | 559 |
Drawdown | 13 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 10 |
Total Retirement sales | 426 | 595 | 738 | 465 | 681 | 518 | 414 | 328 | 569 |
Protection2 | - | - | - | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
LTM loans advanced | 119 | 170 | 162 | 151 | 142 | 137 | 124 | 107 | 95 |
Total new business sales | 545 | 765 | 900 | 617 | 826 | 656 | 539 | 436 | 665 |
Notes
1. Numbers in table subject to rounding.
2. Protection closed to new business in Q4 17. Q1 18 Protection new business sales represented applications in the pipeline.
Enquiries
Investors / Analysts
James Pearce, Director of Group Finance
Telephone: +44 (0) 7715 085 099 james.pearce@wearejust.co.uk
Alistair Smith, Investor Relations Manager Telephone: +44 (0) 1737 232 792 alistair.smith@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 |
Preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2018 | 14 March 2019 |
AGM and Q119 Business Update | 16 May 2019 |
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