15th Mar 2023 09:26
(Alliance News) - Prudential PLC on Wednesday said its diversified business model supported strong annual sales, though profit came under pressure from investment losses.
The insurer hailed its "first full year...as an Asia and Africa focused business". This follows the demerger of its US insurance arm Jackson Financial and a USD2.4 billion fundraise in Hong Kong in 2021, after the spin off of asset manager M&G PLC back in 2019.
Annual premium equivalents - a measure of the new policies sold - rose 4.7% to USD4.39 billion from USD4.19 billion in 2021. The figure came in ahead of company-compiled consensus of USD4.22 billion. Gross premiums earned fell 3.6% to USD23.34 billion from USD24.22 billion.
Hurting its bottom-line was a USD30.16 billion investment loss, swinging from a gain of USD3.49 billion in 2021. Pretax profit halved to USD1.48 billion from USD3.02 billion.
Shares in Prudential fell 6.1% to 1,110.50 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
New business profit fell 14% to USD2.18 billion, after higher volumes were offset by higher interest rates and business mix effects.
European embedded value operating profit, however, increased 12% to EUR3.95 billion. The figure is based on longer-term investment returns and ignores short-term fluctuations.
"We have delivered a resilient performance against a backdrop of Covid-19-related disruption and broader macroeconomic volatility," Chief Executive Anil Wadhwani said
Pru declared a second interim dividend of 13.04 cents per share, up 9.9% from 11.86 a year earlier. It gave a total yearly payout of 18.78 cents per share, up 9.0% from 17.23 cents.
"The results reflect the advantage of our diversified business model across the Asia region, highlighted by a balanced contribution to APE sales and new business profit from Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan and from South-east Asia, including Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia," CEO Wadhwani.
Pru said the removal of Covid-19 restrictions across Asia, and the gradual reopening of China's mainland economy boosted sales in the first two months of 2023, with group-wide sales up 15% year-on-year in constant currency.
"There are signs that Covid-19-related impacts in many of our markets have stabilised, albeit operating conditions may continue to be challenging given the volatile macroeconomic environment and increasing risks of inflation," the firm said.
However, Prudential said its resilient balance sheet and strong capital position will leave it well-placed to manage uncertainty and capitalise on opportunities in 2023.
By Elizabeth Winter, Alliance News senior markets reporter
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