L&G New Business Results 2001

Legal & General Group PLC 24 January 2002 Legal & General Group Plc 2001 new business results - Record new business - Record new institutional fund management business - Record funds under management despite equity market falls Full year Increase New business APE* UK life and pensions - individual £457m +24% - group £127m +74% UK unit trusts and ISAs £126m +34% Total UK £710m +32% International (inc. unit trusts) £91m -3% Total APE including unit trusts/ISAs £801m +27% New institutional fund management £13.2bn +4% * Annual Premium Equivalent (APE) is total new annual premiums + 10% of single premiums. Group Chief Executive, David Prosser, said: '2001 has been a year of real progress for Legal & General with record new business volumes both for the year and for the fourth quarter. Support from our strategic partners helped UK individual new business grow by almost 50% in the fourth quarter. Since 1995, UK individual new business has grown by 25% per annum compound, six successive years of growth in market share. New institutional fund management business reached a record level at £13.2bn, a remarkable achievement. Our market leading index fund skills were also the basis for unit trust and ISA growth, where our 34% increase in sales contrasts with a fall in sales for the total market over the year. With our high quality brand and our extensive experience in multi-channel distribution, we believe Legal & General is well positioned to succeed in the new environment arising from the proposed changes to polarisation.' UK new business =============== New annual premium equivalent (APE) for the full year increased by 32% to £710m (2000: £536m), with the fourth quarter representing another record as new business grew to £194m APE (Q4 2000: £137m). Individual business grew by 49% to £170m APE in the fourth quarter reflecting the benefit of our strategic alliances. Individual pensions ------------------- New annual premium business grew by 60% to £123m (2000: £77m) of which £115m was written on Stakeholder terms. Growth was particularly strong in the fourth quarter (up 144% to £39m). Over 43,000 employers, covering 1.5m potential scheme members, have designated Legal & General as their Stakeholder pensions provider. We believe this represents around 14% of total designations and places Legal & General in a strong position to meet our target market share. We continue to support worksite marketing initiatives to encourage scheme membership. In the final quarter, a growing proportion of our employer Stakeholder business came from fee based employee benefit consultants, generally covering larger employee groups and with higher average salaries. Individual life --------------- Legal & General has retained its leading position in the housing related market. Annual premium sales of £138m were up 7% (2000: £129m) as the strong position we have built up in the life protection market has largely offset the impact of our decision to withdraw our ISA mortgage repayment product in May. Despite this decision, annual premium life sales in the fourth quarter were £37m, 16% up on the corresponding quarter in the prior year. Single premium bond sales were up sharply at £1,238m (2000: £751m), an increase of 65%, resulting from continuing high levels of demand, especially for with-profits bonds. Reflecting falling equity values, we, in common with many competitors, have reduced with-profits bond product benefits and terms. However, new business volumes have remained strong despite these changes. Group business -------------- Group new business increased by 74% to reach £127m APE (2000: £73m), largely as a result of our strength in the bulk purchase annuity market. Following subdued demand in 2000, bulk purchase annuity premiums increased by 187% to £741m. In the latter part of 2001, we took the opportunity to increase the assumed return on capital in pricing this business. However, at the smaller end of the market we continued to write increased volumes. Unit trusts and ISAs -------------------- Against a sharp downturn in sales in the market as a whole, we have achieved exceptionally strong growth in new business in 2001. That growth reflected customers' recognition of the benefits of regular saving and the certainty of outcome relative to markets provided by our indexed products. Over the year, new business APE reached £126m, an increase of 34% (2000: £94m). In the fourth quarter new business increased 52% to £38m APE boosted by the success of our Protected Portfolio product. This month we have announced a further tranche of our Protected Portfolio product and the launch of our web-enabled funds supermarket. Legal & General's funds supermarket will initially offer over 80 funds from 21 different fund managers. Institutional fund management ============================= Our institutional fund management subsidiary had a record year for new business in 2001 despite the fall in equity values which occurred during the year. We continue to expand our range of funds, in part to meet the growing appetite from defined benefit schemes for investment in corporate bonds. Our broad range of indexed funds has also reinforced our position as a leading provider of investment services to defined contribution schemes. Our success in winning both equity and bond mandates for our range of active and indexed funds brought new business of £13.2bn (2000: £12.7bn). Another 231 pension funds were added to our client list over the year with some of the largest mandates coming from the local authority sector. Since January 1998, we have averaged over £1bn of new UK pension fund investment business a month - a track record we believe to be unequalled by any other fund management house. Although equity values fell over the year, Group funds under management exceeded £116bn (2000: £114bn) at the year end. International business ====================== Our European businesses continued to show strong growth over the year, up 21% to EUR. 63m APE (2000: EUR. 52m). Sales in the Netherlands continued to outperform the wider market, growing by an impressive 40% to EUR. 28m APE (2000: EUR. 20m). In France, against difficult market conditions, new business has increased by 9% to EUR. 35m APE (2000: EUR. 32m), supported by strong growth in annual premium business which increased 38% to EUR. 11m. In the USA, new annual premium business fell to $76m (2000: $93m) following exceptional results in the first part of 2000 when sales were distorted by the impact of the introduction of the 'Triple X' solvency requirements. From a lower base, volumes have grown throughout 2001 with fourth quarter new business 24% ahead of the corresponding period in 2000. We continued to develop the business and believe we have increased our share in the niche market of term assurance for upper income customers. UK Distribution =============== We have achieved volume growth in our IFA and Business Partners distribution channels and distribution mix has become more balanced as the fourth quarter results benefited from the strategic alliances with both Alliance & Leicester and Barclays, together with the record number of smaller business partners recruited. In the IFA sector, we established a separate sales and servicing team in December focussed on the needs of the major employee benefit consultants and other fee based advisors to reflect the increasing volumes of business we are receiving from this important segment of the market. We have also used our direct distribution capabilities to support the marketing efforts of our major Business Partners. Our e-commerce capabilities have expanded further. We have benefited from our facility for customers to purchase and manage ISAs on line with 12% of Direct ISA sales over the year via the internet. Additional e-commerce functionality provided for our Direct customers is also utilised by our Business Partners or in the IFA channel. The volumes of term business submitted and underwritten through the internet have continued to grow and now represent over a quarter of such business submitted by IFAs. Outlook ======= 2002 will see the full year benefit of the new partnerships, both large and small, which were established in 2001. Accordingly, we anticipate achieving further market share growth during the year ahead. In the longer term, our marketplace will be influenced by the changes to the polarisation rules recently proposed by the FSA. Legal & General has successfully managed a multi-channel distribution strategy for many years. This represents both a core competence and a key differentiator for us. With our broad product range, recognised quality proposition, triple A financial rating and well-known brand, we believe we have the combination of capabilities and skills to succeed as distribution develops in the marketplace for financial services. For further information contact: Investors: Peter Horsman Media: John Morgan Head of Investor Relations Head of Public Relations 020 7528 6362 01737 375353 Anthony Carlisle Citigate Dewe Rogerson 07973 611888 Notes: 1. A copy of this announcement can be found in the shareholder section of our website at http://investor.legalandgeneral.com/releases.cfm ------------------------------------------------ 2. Financial Calendar for 2001: 28 February Preliminary Results for 2001 30 April AGM and first quarter new business 25 July Interim results and second quarter new business 18 October Third quarter new business. 3. David Prosser, Group Chief Executive will be available for a conference call for wire services at 7.45am today. Callers should dial 020 8400 6314 and ask for the Legal & General conference quoting John Morgan as Chairperson. LEGAL & GENERAL GROUP PLC UNAUDITED NEW BUSINESS PREMIUMS YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2001 NEW UK BUSINESS =============== Year ended Three months to 31 December inc/ 31 December inc/ 2001 2000 (dec) 2001 2000 (dec) £m £m % £m £m % INDIVIDUAL LIFE AND PENSIONS BUSINESS New annual premiums Life: - Mortgage related 101 112 26 26 - Savings 0 1 0 0 - Protection 37 16 11 6 Pensions: - Individual pensions 123 77 39 16 ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- Total new annual premiums 261 206 27 76 48 58 Single premiums Life: - With-profits 1,134 648 360 180 - Other 104 103 35 21 Pensions: - Individual pensions 266 342 55 55 - Annuities - individual 335 426 80 116 - DSS rebates 120 111 32 35 ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- Total single premiums 1,959 1,630 20 562 407 38 Individual life ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- and pensions APE 457 369 24 132 89 48 GROUP LIFE AND PENSIONS BUSINESS New annual premiums - Group risk 32 31 7 6 - Group pensions 14 9 2 2 ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- Total new annual premiums 46 40 15 9 8 13 Single premiums - Annuities - bulk purchase 741 258 143 136 - Other group business 74 68 5 10 ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- Total single premiums 815 326 150 148 146 1 Group life ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- and pensions APE 127 73 74 24 23 4 ISAS, PEPS AND UNIT TRUSTS New annual premiums - ISAs/PEPs (excluding cash ISAs) 38 27 13 13 - Unit trusts 1 0 1 0 ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- Total new annual premiums 39 27 44 14 13 8 Single premiums - ISAs/PEPs (excluding cash ISAs) 467 403 98 58 - Unit trusts 405 269 145 62 ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- Total single premiums 872 672 30 243 120 103 ISAs, PEPs and ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- unit trusts APE 126 94 34 38 25 52 ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- Total UK APE 710 536 32 194 137 42 ====== ====== === ====== ====== === INSTITUTIONAL FUND MANAGEMENT UK Managed Funds - Pooled funds 10,608 11,040 2,842 3,007 - Segregated funds 2,571 327 1,373 32 ------ ------ ------ ------ 13,179 11,367 4,215 3,039 UK Other 40 1,310 12 39 ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- 13,219 12,677 4 4,227 3,078 37 ====== ====== === ====== ====== === LEGAL & GENERAL GROUP PLC UNAUDITED NEW BUSINESS PREMIUMS YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2001 WORLDWIDE NEW BUSINESS ====================== Year ended Three months to 31 December inc/ 31 December inc/ 2001 2000 (dec) 2001 2000 (dec) £m £m % £m £m % New annual premiums Life and pensions: - Life 170 160 44 38 - Pensions 137 86 41 18 ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- UK 307 246 25 85 56 52 - USA 52 62 14 10 - Netherlands 8 7 2 3 - France 7 5 1 1 ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- Total life and pensions 374 320 17 102 70 46 Retail investment business: - UK 39 27 14 13 ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- Total new annual premiums 413 347 19 116 83 40 Single premiums Life and pensions: - Life 1,238 751 395 201 - Pensions 1,536 1,205 315 352 ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- UK 2,774 1,956 42 710 553 28 - USA 1 1 1 1 - Netherlands 91 54 14 24 - France 109 107 25 29 ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- Total life and pensions 2,975 2,118 40 750 607 24 Retail investment business: - UK 872 672 243 120 - France 35 41 6 14 ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- Total single premiums 3,882 2,831 37 999 741 35 Annual premium equivalent (APE) - Life and pensions business 671 532 26 177 131 35 - Retail investment business 130 98 33 39 26 50 ------ ------ --- ------ ------ --- Worldwide APE 801 630 27 216 157 37 ====== ====== === ====== ====== === LEGAL & GENERAL GROUP PLC UNAUDITED NEW BUSINESS PREMIUMS YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2001 OVERSEAS OPERATIONS IN LOCAL CURRENCY ===================================== Year ended inc/ Three months to inc/ 31 December (dec) 31 December (dec) 2001 2000 % 2001 2000 % USA ($m): New annual premiums 76 93 21 17 Single premiums 1 1 0 0 APE 76 93 (18) 21 17 24 Netherlands (EUR. m): New annual premiums 13 11 3 3 Single premiums 149 86 24 36 APE 28 20 40 6 7 (14) France (EUR. m): New annual premiums 11 8 1 2 Single premiums 178 170 43 40 Unit trusts 58 65 12 19 APE 35 32 9 7 8 (13) UK INDIVIDUAL APE BY CHANNEL ============================ Year ended 31 December 2001 Annual Single Total APE £m £m £m % Independent financial adviser 154 159 313 54 Business partnerships 115 95 210 36 Direct 31 29 60 10 ------ ------ ------ ---- 300 283 583 100 ====== ====== ====== ==== Year ended 31 December 2000 Annual Single Total APE £m £m £m % Independent financial adviser 123 156 279 60 Business partnerships 78 31 109 24 Direct 32 43 75 16 ------ ------ ------ ---- 233 230 463 100 ====== ====== ====== ==== This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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