2026 Half Year Results
Simpler, more focused L&G delivers 11% Core Operating EPS growth
António Simões, CEO:
"We are making good progress in becoming a simpler, more focused L&G. Core operating profit grew 7%, core operating EPS increased 11%, and we have completed c.£450m of our £1.2bn buyback programme. We have improved dividend cover by earnings and capital generation. We are pleased to confirm a 2% interim dividend increase as we continue to deliver strong and sustainable shareholder returns.
The highlight of the first half was the performance in Asset Management, with fee-related earnings increasing 37%, supported by record Annualised Net New Revenue and a reduced cost-income ratio of 71%. In Institutional Retirement, we maintained our strict pricing discipline while writing or exclusive on £5.7bn of global PRT year to date. We continue to cement our leading positions in Retail. Workplace Pensions administered assets increased 27% year on year to £128bn and total UK DC assets under management reached £236bn.
Our scale and the connections between our businesses remain a clear competitive advantage, which we are building further through improvements in operating efficiency. We are on track to meet or exceed our strategic targets."
Strong financial performance[1]
• Core Operating Profit of £918m up 7% and Core operating EPS up 11%
• FY26 Core Operating EPS expected to be above the top end of our 6-9% target range
• IFRS Profit Before Tax[2] of £1,997m reflecting a gain on the disposal of our non-retained US business
• Solvency II Capital Generation (OSG) of £790m up 3% and SII OSG per share of 14.16p, up 7%
• Solvency II Coverage Ratio of 201%, remaining well above our 160-190% operating target range
• Asset Optimisation of £288m (up 36%); increasing our guidance to >£400m per annum
Leading businesses well-positioned in growing markets
• Institutional Retirement: £5.7bn of Global PRT (pension risk transfer) written or exclusive as at end-July
• Asset Management: Cost income ratio reduced 4ppts to 71%; £1.2trn global AUM, of which Private Markets £79bn (up 22%); ANNR[3] of £23m and fee margin expansion to 9.6bps, total UK DC assets up 23% to £236bn
• Retail: Retail Annuities volumes of £1.2bn and Workplace net flows of £6.2bn as at end-July. Workplace DC Assets Under Administration up 27% to £128bn
Synergistic business model
• >50% of Asset Management ANNR3 in first half of 2026 supported by controlled distribution[4]
• c.98% of UK PRT volumes transacted with our long-standing clients in Asset Management in H1 2026 with c.90% of Annuity assets managed by Asset Management
• c.95% of Workplace AUA managed by Asset Management, Private Markets Access Fund now over £3bn
Attractive sustainable capital returns
• Interim dividend per share of 6.24p, up 2%, and £1.2bn buyback underway with c. £450m completed at end of July
• Returning more than £5bn to shareholders over 2025-2027
Notes
Legal & General Group Plc's Half Year Results for the 6 months ending 30 June 2026 are available at
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2894P_1-2026-8-4.pdf
A copy of this announcement and the presentation slides can be found in "Results, Reports and Presentations", under the "Investors" section of our shareholder website at https://group.legalandgeneral.com/en/investors/results-reports-and-presentations.
A presentation to analysts and investors will take place at 10:00am UK time on 5 August 2026 at One Coleman Street, London, EC2R 5AA. There will also be a live webcast of the presentation that can be accessed at https://group.legalandgeneral.com/en/investors.
A replay of the presentation will be made available on this website by 12 August 2026.
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Financial Calendar |
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Ex-dividend date (2026 interim dividend) |
20 August 2026 |
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Record date |
21 August 2026 |
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Dividend payment date |
25 September 2026 |
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Q3 Trading Update |
16 November 2026 |
Enquiries
Investors
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Andy Sinclair, Group Chief Strategy & Investor Relations Officer investor.relations@group.landg.com +44 20 3124 2494 |
Gregory Franck, Investor Relations Director investor.relations@group.landg.com +44 203 124 4415 |
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Media
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Sneha Patel, Director of External Communications Sneha.Patel@group.landg.com +44 75536 04804 |
Jessica Bihari, Head of Group Media
Jessica.Bihari@group.landg.com
+44 7384 237665 |
Lucy Legh LandG@headlandconsultancy.com +44 20 3805 4822 |
[1] The Group uses a number of Alternative Performance Measures to enhance understanding of the Group's performance as defined on pages 73-75.
[2] IFRS Profit before tax see Note 2.01.
[3] Annualised Net New Revenue.
[4] Controlled distribution refers to flows of assets from our PRT, individual annuities or Workplace businesses.