17th May 2007 11:00
Prudential PLC17 May 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11am Thursday 17 May 2007 PRUDENTIAL PLC - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING At this morning's AGM, Prudential plc Chairman Sir David Clementi highlighted "a year of substantial progress" by Prudential. Speaking to shareholders at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London,Sir David said: "2006 was another excellent year for Prudential with EEVoperating profits ahead strongly and confirming the effectiveness of thestrategy that we have been following." Sir David added: "The Group also further strengthened its cash flow and capitalposition in the year and, as a result, we were able to propose an increase offive per cent in the full year dividend. We have also put in place a newdividend policy. "In March we announced a refocusing of our UK business after an extensive reviewof all available options. The Board believes that the current composition andstructure of the Group provide material financial and operational benefits toshareholders. At this stage, the management team's focus continues to be onprofitable growth in all areas of the business and, in particular, the UK teamis absolutely focused on the execution and delivery of the strategy we haveoutlined. As you would expect, the Board considers strategy on a regular basisand it will continue to take account of all alternatives to maximise value forshareholders." Group Chief Executive Mark Tucker highlighted "great opportunities ahead forcontinued profitable growth". Mr Tucker said: "2006 saw a year of further success in building our businesswith a clear and committed focus on value generation, and the momentum Ireferred to last year maintained and even intensified. "UK retail new business volumes were ahead 14 per cent and overall margins andreturns on new business remained towards the top end of what you will see in theUK market. That performance was driven principally by improving margins andreturns in the retail business, and individual annuities in particular, and wesee this sector as the mainstay of UK profitability in the years ahead." Mr Tucker noted that Jackson is "very well placed to continue the success wehave seen over recent years". He added: "In the US, the Jackson team has hadanother strong year. They have outperformed the market considerably, with retailsales growing at twice the market growth rate, margins moving ahead at theaggregate level and returns on new business also improving." Turning to Asia, Mr Tucker said: "Again, sales and new business profits movedahead strongly and we have continued to build the distribution footprint withover 285,000 agents across the region and a spread of non-agency distributionthat is unparalleled. Margin and returns remain high, though obviouslyinfluenced by the country mix, and we are also improving expense efficiency aswe see the scale of the business increase." Highlighting sustained superior investment performance across the Group's assetmanagement businesses, Mr Tucker said: "M&G and our Asian business go fromstrength to strength." He added: "Over a five-year period, external funds under management have morethan doubled from £24 billion to £57 billion at the end of 2006 and bothbusinesses attracted record net inflows in the year." ENDS Enquiries: Media Investors / analystsJon Bunn 020 7548 3559 James Matthews 020 7548 3561 07808 632167Carole Butcher 020 7548 3719 Marina Novis 020 7548 3511 Notes to Editor: 1. A full transcript of Sir David Clementi and Mark Tucker's speeches andpresentation to shareholders can be found on the Prudential plc website atwww.prudential.co.uk/prudential-plc/investors/agminfo/2007/ 2. About Prudential Prudential plc is a company incorporated in England with its head office inLondon, which, with its affiliated companies constitutes one of the world'sleading financial services groups. It provides insurance and financial servicesdirectly and through its subsidiaries and affiliates throughout the world. Ithas been in existence for over 150 years and had £250.7 billion in assets undermanagement as at 31 December 2006. Prudential plc is not affiliated in anymanner with Prudential Financial, Inc, a company whose principal place ofbusiness is in the United States of America. Forward-Looking StatementsThis statement may contain certain "forward-looking statements" with respect tocertain of Prudential's plans and its current goals and expectations relating toits future financial condition, performance, results, strategy and objectives.Statements containing the words "believes", "intends", "expects", "plans","seeks" and "anticipates", and words of similar meaning, are forward-looking. Bytheir nature, all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertaintybecause they relate to future events and circumstances which are beyondPrudential's control including among other things, UK domestic and globaleconomic and business conditions, market related risks such as fluctuations ininterest rates and exchange rates, and the performance of financial marketsgenerally; the policies and actions of regulatory authorities, the impact ofcompetition, inflation, and deflation; experience in particular with regard tomortality and morbidity trends, lapse rates and policy renewal rates; thetiming, impact and other uncertainties of future acquisitions or combinationswithin relevant industries; and the impact of changes in capital, solvency oraccounting standards, and tax and other legislation and regulations in thejurisdictions in which Prudential and its affiliates operate. This may forexample result in changes to assumptions used for determining results ofoperations or re-estimations of reserves for future policy benefits. As aresult, Prudential's actual future financial condition, performance and resultsmay differ materially from the plans, goals, and expectations set forth inPrudential's forward-looking statements. Prudential undertakes no obligation toupdate the forward-looking statements contained in this statement or any otherforward-looking statements it may make. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Prudential