BUSINESS UPDATE FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 30 SEP 2018

RNS Number : 7696F
Just Group PLC
31 October 2018
 



NEWS RELEASE

www.justgroupplc.co.uk

                                                                                                                                                                     

31 October 2018

JUST GROUP plc

BUSINESS UPDATE FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

 

 

Just Group plc ("Just", "the Group") announces a business update for the period ended 30 September 2018.

 

Highlights

·               

Retirement Income sales for 9M18 were 44% higher than for 9M17, driven by the continued growth in Defined Benefit De-risking ("DB") sales.

 

·               

DB sales for 9M18 were up 91% to £1,081m.  The market for de-risking is buoyant and we are being increasingly selective to maximise returns.

 

·               

Guaranteed Income for Life ("GIfL") sales for 9M18 were up 3% to £627m. Volumes have slowed as pricing increases have taken effect.

 

·               

Lifetime Mortgage ("LTM") advances of £483m were up 32% on 9M17.  This is in line with the very robust market growth we are seeing.

 

·               

Just Group has submitted its response to consultation paper ("CP") 13/18 and awaits the publication of the Prudential Regulation Authority's ("PRA") final supervisory statement.  The Board is preparing for a wide range of possible outcomes and remains in constructive dialogue with the PRA. 

 

 

Just Group new business1

9 months to

30/09/18

9 months to

30/09/17

Change

3 months to

30/09/18

3 months to

30/09/17

Change


£m

£m

%

£m

£m

%

Defined Benefit De-risking

1,081

564

91

363

269

35

Guaranteed Income for Life

627

607

3

201

217

(8)

Care Plans

52

52

0

17

18

(3)

Retirement Income sales

1,760

1,223

44

581

504

15

Drawdown

38

37

4

14

14

1

Total Retirement sales

1,798

1,260

43

595

518

15

Protection2

1

4

NM

-

1

NM

Lifetime mortgage loans advanced

483

367

32

170

137

25

Total new business sales

2,282

1,631

40

765

656

17

 

Rodney Cook, Group Chief Executive, said:

"I am pleased to report another excellent quarter, demonstrating the strength of the Group's positioning and strategy. The markets in which we operate are generally buoyant.  The Defined Benefit market has seen increased activity all year and the industry pipeline is very strong.  In the GIfL market, shopping around continues to grow as a proportion of the total, helped by Financial Conduct Authority initiatives.  Customer appetite for lifetime mortgages is increasing and supply from insurers is growing, all helping to stimulate strong market growth.

We remain focused on achieving attractive returns on capital from new business and, in anticipation of the potential increase in capital requirements as a result of CP13/18, we have strengthened our pricing discipline further during the quarter.  Whilst the price increases will affect sales in the final quarter we remain confident of delivering a strong performance for the year.

 

CP13/18 is for us primarily a back book issue.  The Group has no further clarity on the outcome of the consultation but has continued to work hard to make detailed plans for a range of potential outcomes.  We welcome the announcement by the PRA last week that the implementation date for the final proposals will not be before 31 December 2019.  A longer implementation period provides greater flexibility to execute any necessary capital management actions."

 

 

New business sales by quarter1 (£m)

3 months to:

30 Sep 2018

30 Jun 2018

31 Mar 2018

31 Dec 2017

30 Sep 2017

30 Jun 2017

31 Mar 2017

31 Dec 2016

30 Sep 2016

Defined Benefit De-risking

363

469

249

434

269

170

125

365

414

Guaranteed Income for Life

201

238

188

213

217

216

174

174

207

Care Plans

17

18

18

20

18

17

17

19

20

Retirement Income

581

725

454

666

504

403

317

559

641

Drawdown

14

13

11

14

14

11

12

10

9

Total Retirement sales

595

738

465

681

518

414

328

569

650

Protection2

-

-

1

2

1

1

2

1

2

LTM loans advanced

170

162

151

142

137

124

107

95

143

Total new business sales

765

900

617

826

656

539

436

665

795

 

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

Results for the year ended 31 December 2018

14 March 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


This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
 
END
 
 
TSTFDWFMSFASELS

Companies

Just Group (JUST)
UK 100

Latest directors dealings