Aviva plc 2022 Results Announcement

RNS Number : 3724S

Aviva PLC

09 March 2023

 

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News release
9 March 2023

Aviva plc 2022 Results Announcement

Strong 2022 results, operating momentum continues

Announcing share buyback of £300m¹.Total capital return over £5bn since 2021

On track to meet or exceed Group targets, outlook remains positive

Solvency II OFG‡		Solvency II cover ratio‡,3		General insurance COR‡		Operating profit‡,4		Baseline controllable costs‡,5
£1,623m		212%		94.6%		£2,213m		£2,771m
+37%		(32)pp		+1.7pp		+35%		(3)%
20212: £1,187m		2021: 244%		20212: 92.9%		20212: £1,634m		20212: £2,854m

Amanda Blanc, Group Chief Executive Officer, said:

"We are making excellent progress at Aviva. Operating profits and dividends are growing and we have strong trading momentum despite significant market volatility. We have radically simplified Aviva, we are financially strong and we are utterly focused on transforming and growing the business.

"Our core businesses in the UK, Ireland and Canada grew in 2022, and contributed to a very strong, all round performance. Life insurance value of new business is up 15%, general insurance sales^6,7 are up 8% and overall operating profit is up 35%. We are investing to make it easier for customers to do business with Aviva and customer numbers in the UK have grown to 15.5m .

"Cash remittances² are up strongly, our capital position is robust, and we are today declaring a final dividend of 20.7 pence, meaning a total ordinary dividend of 31.0 pence for 2022. We are committed to delivering an attractive and sustainable dividend, and have upgraded our dividend guidance to low-to-mid single digit growth in the cash cost of the dividend. We are confident in the future capital generation of our business, and so we are also announcing today an additional return of capital to shareholders, via the launch of a £300m share buyback, in line with our preference to return surplus capital regularly and sustainably. This takes the total capital return to over £5bn since 2021.

"The diversified model we have built at Aviva has proved its worth, providing clear benefits for customers and shareholders and driving our great results last year. Whilst I am pleased with what's been accomplished over the past twelve months, I am clear there is significantly more value which Aviva can and will deliver in 2023 and beyond."

Strong results demonstrating benefits of diversified business model

• General insurance gross written premiums (GWP) up 8% ⁷ to £9,749m (2021 ² : £8,807m) and COR^‡ of 94.6% (2021²: 92.9%)

• UK & Ireland Life VNB^‡ up 15% to £767m (2021: £668m) with sales⁶of £33bn (2021: £36bn)

• Operating profit^‡,4up 35% to £2,213m (2021²: £1,634m)

• Solvency II operating own funds generation^‡ up 37% to £1,623m (2021²: £1,187m)

• Solvency II return on equity^‡ 16.4% (2021²: 10.7%)

• Cash remittances^‡ up 11% to £1,845m (2021 ² : £1,662m)

• Baseline controllable costs ^‡,5 down 3% to £2,771m (2021²: £2,854m) reflecting continued focus on efficiency

• IFRS loss of £(1,139)m (2021: £2,036m profit) largely reflects adverse market movements

• Final dividend per share of 20.70p (2021: 14.70p). Total dividend per share of 31.00p (2021: 22.05p), as per previous guidance

Capital position remains robust - £300m share buyback to commence immediately

• Solvency II shareholder cover ratio^‡ of 212% (2021: 244%) and centre liquidity^‡ (Feb 23) of £2.2bn (Feb 22: £6.6bn)

• Estimated Solvency II shareholder cover ratio pro forma for further debt reduction and pension scheme payment of 207%. Allowing for payment of the 2022 final dividend and the £300m share buyback the ratio is estimated at 196%.

• Solvency II debt leverage ratio^‡ of 31% (2021: 27%), and 30% on a pro forma basis for further debt reduction and pension scheme payment.

• Given our robust capital position, we are commencing a £300m share buyback programme immediately¹. Our preference remains to return surplus capital regularly and sustainably.

Footnotes are shown on page 2

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Continuing strong operating momentum

• Wealth proved resilient in challenging market conditions with net flows^‡ of £9.1bn (2021: £10.0bn) benefitting from strong performance in Workplace which added 374 new schemes in the year.

• Annuities & Equity release sales⁶ were 21% lower at £6,238m (2021: £7,887m) with Solvency II OFG^‡ up 34% to £524m
(2021: £392m). The outlook for BPA volumes is positive and we are confident in meeting our £15-£20bn volume target over 2022-24.

• Protection & Health VNB^‡ up 18% to £221m (2021: £188m) reflecting strong sales, improved margins and beneficial assumption changes, partly offset by the negative impact from higher interest rates.

• UK & Ireland General Insurance GWP, up 7% to £5,740m (2021: £5,352m), and COR^‡ of 96.1% (2021: 94.3%). UK commercial lines performed strongly with GWP up 12% while personal lines was up 2% as we retained our pricing discipline amid adverse market conditions. We will continue to take the necessary actions to price appropriately for the inflationary environment in 2023.

• Canada GWP up 16% (9% at constant currency) to £4,009m (2021: £3,455m) and a COR^‡ of 92.5% (2021: 90.7%). We saw excellent growth in both commercial and personal lines with GWP up 14% and 6% respectively at constant currency.

• Aviva Investors external net flows^‡ remain positive despite challenging market conditions at £1.3bn (2021: £3.3bn).

Group financial performance						Cash and liquidity
General Insurance GWP		UK & Ireland Life VNB‡		IFRS loss for the year		Cash remittances‡		Centre liquidity‡
£9.7bn		£767m		£(1,139)m		£1,845m		£2.2bn
+8% 7		+15%		(156)%		+11%		£(4.4)bn
20212: £8.8bn		20212: £668m		2021: profit £2,036m		20212: £1,662m		Feb 22: £6.6bn

Outlook

Our positive momentum continued in 2022 with a strong set of results, and our diversified business model positions us well to navigate the current macroeconomic environment. This reinforces our confidence in the prospects, financial targets and outlook for the Group.

In UK & Ireland Life we expect higher BPA volumes in 2023 as a growing number of pension schemes look to de-risk. Our Wealth business remains positioned to grow, and while market conditions are challenging in the near-term in Adviser Platform, our Workplace business offers strong growth opportunities. We continue to expect good demand for Protection and Health products.

In General Insurance we will remain focused on pricing appropriately for the inflationary environment. In the UK, we expect to see continued momentum in commercial lines while we focus on growing our retail business in personal lines. In Canada, rates are expected to remain supportive in commercial lines along with personal property, while we continue to focus on managing rate in personal motor given the inflationary pressures, and growing our RBC partnership and direct business. Across General Insurance, we remain focused on meeting our <94%⁸ COR ^‡ ambition over time.

Aviva Investors continues to focus on improving efficiency across the business, and is taking actions to drive improvements. However, conditions are likely to remain challenging in 2023 given ongoing uncertainty in the macro environment and investment markets.

We are committed to delivering for our shareholders. We have set out a sustainable dividend policy, and expect to pay a dividend of
c.£915 million for 2023, with low-to-mid single digit growth in the cash cost of the dividend thereafter.

Under our capital framework, surplus capital is available for reinvestment in the business, focused M&A and returns to shareholders. We have announced a share buyback today, and anticipate further regular and sustainable capital returns in the future⁹.

‡ Denotes Alternative Performance Measures (APMs) and further information can be found in the 'Other information' section | 1. Commencing on 10th March 2023. | 2. Comparatives presented are from continuing operations | 3. Solvency II cover ratio is the estimated Solvency II shareholder cover ratio at 31 December 2022 | 4. Operating profit represents Group adjusted operating profit which is a non-GAAP APM. Operating profit is not bound by the requirements of IFRS. Further details are included in the 'Other information' section | 5. Baseline controllable costs exclude strategic investment, cost reduction implementation, IFRS 17 and other costs not included in the 2018 costs savings target baseline | 6. Sales refers to present value of new business premiums (PVNBP) in Life or gross written premiums (GWP) in General Insurance | 7. Constant currency | 8. Based on IFRS 4 | 9. The Board has not approved or made any decision to pay any dividend in respect of any future period

Click on, or paste the following links into your web browser, to view the complete Aviva plc Results Announcement 2022 and the Aviva plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022 documents:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/3724S_1-2023-3-9.pdf

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/3724S_2-2023-3-9.pdf

The documents are available to view on the Company's website at https://www.aviva.com/investors/reports/ and copies have been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.

 

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