TIDMJUST

RNS Number : 0662A

Just Group PLC

18 January 2024

 
 
 
  NEWS RELEASE  www.justgroupplc.co.uk 
 

18 January 2024

JUST GROUP plc

BUSINESS UPDATE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Just Group plc ("Just", the "Group") announces a business update for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Highlights

 
            --   Shareholder funded Retirement Income sales up 24% to GBP3.9bn, driven 
                  by both Defined Benefit De-risking ("DB") and Guaranteed Income for 
                  Life ("GIfL"). Total Retirement Income sales, which includes DB Partner, 
                  were up 27% to GBP4.3bn. 
            --              Total DB sales were up 21% to GBP3.4bn . We completed 80 transactions 
                             during the year (2022: 56 transactions), driven by our proprietary 
                             bulk quotation service. LCP(4) estimate that 2023 industry volumes 
                             were c.GBP50bn, a new record, with this strong momentum to carry into 
                             2024. 
            --              Retail sales were up 59% to GBP0.9bn. The GIfL market was its largest 
                             since the introduction of Pension Freedoms in 2014, driven by higher 
                             interest rates, which stimulated customer and advisor demand. We believe 
                             that GIfL market growth is also benefiting from the introduction of 
                             the FCA's Consumer Duty, which is prompting advisers to help customers 
                             achieve their objectives by carefully considering all retirement income 
                             products. 
            --              Other illiquid asset origination(5) increased by 50% to GBP1.6bn (2022: 
                             GBP1.0bn), which supports our new business pricing, while also diversifying 
                             the in-force asset backing portfolio. This demonstrates the scalability 
                             of our "manager of managers" origination model. 
            --   New business strain is again expected to be below 2% and H2 23 new 
                  business margins are expected to be higher than the 8.5% achieved in 
                  H1. We have maintained strong pricing discipline and a continued focus 
                  on risk selection, derived from our unique insight and positioning 
                  in buoyant markets. 
 

2023 Retirement Income sales up 24% to GBP3.9bn

 
                                           Year ended   Year ended 
 Just Group new business(1)                  31/12/23     31/12/22   Change 
                                                 GBPm         GBPm        % 
 Defined Benefit De-risking                     2,999        2,568       17 
 Guaranteed Income for Life(2)                    894          564       59 
                                          -----------  -----------  ------- 
 Retirement Income sales (shareholder 
  funded)                                       3,893        3,131       24 
 DB Partner (funded reinsurance)                  416          259       61 
                                          -----------  -----------  ------- 
 Total Retirement Income sales                  4,309        3,390       27 
                                          -----------  -----------  ------- 
 
 Note: Total Defined Benefit De-risking 
  sales(3)                                      3,415        2,827       21 
 

David Richardson, Group Chief Executive, said:

"Our performance in 2023 further demonstrates the strength of our new business model, with another year of exceptional delivery against our ambitious growth plans. Our success is underpinned by the sheer number of DB opportunities available, scheme funding at record levels, and our capability to provide innovative solutions consistently across the entire market. Furthermore, the GIfL market has been revitalised by higher interest rates, while regulatory change has stimulated advisers to consider carefully all product options to achieve their customers' objectives.

I am once again very grateful to my colleagues, who with their commitment and hard work continue to deliver so much success. In doing so, we fulfil our purpose to help more people achieve a better later life. We are well positioned to continue benefiting from the long term growth drivers and positive developments in both of our markets, and are very optimistic about what we can achieve in the years ahead.

Our successes in 2023 and positioning in buoyant markets give us increased confidence in our prospects for 2024. These strong foundations enable us to continue delivering 15% growth in underlying operating profit per annum, on average over the medium term."

Note 1: Numbers in table subject to rounding

Note 2: Care Plan sales are now reported within the GIfL figure, and were GBP48m in 2023 (2022: GBP44m)

Note 3: Total Defined Benefit De-risking sales is the sum of Defined Benefit De-risking and DB Partner (GBP2,999m + GBP416m = GBP3,415m)

Note 4: LCP - a leading employee benefit consultant

Note 5: In addition to GBP1.55bn of other illiquids, Just also funded GBP164m of lifetime mortgage assets

All the figures are unaudited

 
 FINANCIAL CALENDAR                         DATE 
 Results for the year ended 31 December     7 March 2024 (provisional) 
  2023 
                                           ============================ 
 Annual General Meeting                     7 May 2024 
                                           ============================ 
 Interim results for the six months ended   8 August 2024 (provisional) 
  30 June 2024 
                                           ============================ 
 
 
 Enquiries 
 
  Investors / Analysts                   Media 
 
  Alistair Smith, Investor Relations     Stephen Lowe, Group Communications 
  Telephone: +44 (0) 1737 232 792        Director 
  alistair.smith@wearejust.co.uk         Telephone: +44 (0) 1737 827 301 
                                         press.office@wearejust.co.uk 
  Paul Kelly, Investor Relations 
  Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7444 8127        Temple Bar Advisory 
  paul.kelly@wearejust.co.uk             Alex Child-Villiers 
                                         William Barker 
                                         Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7183 1190 
 

A copy of this announcement will be available on the Group's website www.justgroupplc.co.uk

JUST GROUP PLC

GROUP COMMUNICATIONS

Enterprise House

Bancroft Road

Reigate

Surrey RH2 7RP

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.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.

END

UPDUBVBRSAUAAAR

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 18, 2024 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)

Just (LSE:JUST)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Abr 2024 a May 2024 Haga Click aquí para más Gráficas Just.
Just (LSE:JUST)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De May 2023 a May 2024 Haga Click aquí para más Gráficas Just.