REG - Hansard Global plc - New business results for 6 months ended 31/12/22

Hansard GlobalAnnouncement

26/01/2023 07:01

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RNS Number : 8727N  Hansard Global plc  26 January 2023

 

26 January 2023

 

 

Hansard Global plc

New business results for the six months ended 31 December 2022

 

 

Hansard Global plc ("Hansard" or "the Group"), the specialist long-term
savings provider, issues its new business results for the six months ended 31
December 2022.  The three months ended 31 December 2022 are referred to as
"Q2 2023" where applicable.

 

Summary

·   New business for the Group for the three months ended 31 December 2022
was £18.6m in PVNBP ("Present Value of New Business Premiums") terms (three
months ended 31 December 2021: £33.5m);

·    New business for the six months ended 31 December 2022 was £43.4m
(six months ended 31 December 2021: £64.9m);

·    Assets under administration were £1.10 billion at 31 December 2022
(30 June 2022:  £1.10 billion);

·     We continue to make good progress towards launching a new
proposition in the Middle East to assist growing our business in that market
and have also made encouraging progress with distribution opportunities for
our Japanese proposition.

 

Graham Sheward, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:

 

"The overall environment has remained challenging for investment and long-term
savings plans. However, we continue to make good progress developing new
product and distribution opportunities.

 

In our largest region, Middle East and Africa, new business was down 13.7% for
the six months ended 31 December 2022.  Having recruited additional sales
management for this region, we have been working closely with both new and
existing distribution partners to expand our proposition, targeting for
example pensions and higher net worth clients.  In addition, we continue to
make good progress towards launching a set of products for the Middle East
that will leverage our new administration system and incorporate a new best in
breed fund range.

 

New business in Latin America was down 4.9%.  Similar to the Middle East and
Africa region, we are working on building business with new distribution
partners to supplement our existing distribution.

 

The Rest of World region was down 64.1% due to a decline in single premium
business and business acceptance restrictions arising out of the
Russia-Ukraine conflict.

 

The 61.6% reduction in Far East business reflects a fluctuating smaller base
of new business which experienced a spike in the prior year comparative. We
have recently relocated a regional sales manager to our branch in Malaysia to
drive business growth in this region.

 

In addition to our new proposition developed for the Middle East, we also
continue to make encouraging progress with distribution opportunities for our
Japanese proposition and remain optimistic for future new business in that
jurisdiction.

 

The Group also remains on track for replacing its policy administration
systems to support its next generation of products whilst realising associated
cost and efficiency gains."

 

 

 

For further information:

Hansard Global plc
                         +44 (0) 1624 688 000

Graham Sheward, Group Chief Executive Officer

Tim Davies, Chief Financial Officer

Email: investor-relations@hansard.com

 

Camarco LLP
                              +44 (0) 7990 653 341

Ben Woodford, Hugo Liddy

 

Hansard Global plc

New business results for the six months ended 31 December 2022

 

OVERVIEW

The Group continues to focus on the distribution of regular and single premium
savings and investment products in a range of jurisdictions around the
world.

The ongoing uncertainty in global economic conditions continues to adversely
impact our new business levels. In Present Value of New Business Premiums
("PVNBP") terms, new business for the quarter ended 31 December 2022 was 44.5%
lower than the prior year equivalent and 33.1% lower for the six months to 31
December 2022.

Annualised Premium Equivalent ("APE") for the quarter ended 31 December 2022
was 40.4% lower than the prior year equivalent and 27.3% lower for the six
months to 31 December 2022.

The lower proportion of single premiums written has a greater impact to the
PVNBP metric compared to the APE metric.

New Business Flows

New business flows for the quarter and the half-year are summarised as
follows:

 

                                         Three months ended             Six months ended
                                         31 December                    31 December
                                         2022     2021     %            2022    2021    %
 Basis                                   £m       £m       change       £m      £m      change
 Present Value of New Business Premiums  18.6     33.5     (44.5%)      43.4    64.9    (33.1%)
 Annualised Premium Equivalent           2.8      4.7      (40.4%)      6.4     8.8     (27.3%)

 

Present Value of New Business Premiums ("PVNBP")

New business flows on the basis of PVNBP are broken down as follows:

                           Three months ended             Six months ended
                         31 December                      31 December
                        2022      2021      %             2022    2021    %
 PVNBP by product type  £m        £m        change        £m      £m      change
 Regular premium        13.8      21.7      (36.4%)       30.8    40.6    (24.1%)
 Single premium         4.8       11.8      (59.3%)       12.6    24.3    (48.1%)
 Total                  18.6      33.5      (44.5%)       43.4    64.9    (33.1%)

 

                             Three months ended             Six months ended
                             31 December                    31 December
                             2022     2021     %            2022    2021    %
 PVNBP by geographical area  £m       £m       change       £m      £m      change
 Middle East & Africa        8.5      11.9     (28.6%)      19.5    22.6    (13.7%)
 Latin America               5.7      7.6      (25.0%)      13.7    14.4    (4.9%)
 Rest of World               3.6      11.2     (67.9%)      7.4     20.6    (64.1%)
 Far East                    0.8      2.8      (71.4%)      2.8     7.3     (61.6%)
 Total                       18.6     33.5     (44.5%)      43.4    64.9    (33.1%)

 

Assets under Administration ("AUA")

The composition and value of AuA is based upon the assets selected by or on
behalf of contract holders to meet their savings and investment needs.
 Reflecting the wide geographical spread of the Group's customer base, the
majority of premium contributions and of AuA are designated in currencies
other than sterling.  Over 60% of Group AuA are denominated in US dollars.

The total of such assets is affected by the level of new premium contributions
received from new and existing policy contracts, the amount of assets
withdrawn by contract holders, charges and the effect of investment market and
currency movements.  These factors ultimately affect the level of fund-based
income earned by the Group. Net withdrawals are typically experienced in
Hansard Europe dac ("Hansard Europe") as it closed to new business in 2013.

AuA saw an increase of £1.9m to £1.10 billion during the three months ended
31 December 2022.  For the six months ended 31 December 2022 AuA increased by
£8.0m.

 

The following analysis shows the components of the movement in AuA during the
quarter:

 

 

                                                      Three months ended          Six months ended
                                                      31 December                 31 December
                                                      2022        2021            2022       2021
                                                      £m          £m              £m         £m
 Deposits to investment contracts - regular premiums  22.6        22.4            44.2       43.3
 Deposits to investment contracts - single premiums   4.9         12.0            12.7       24.6
 Withdrawals from contracts and charges               (32.7)      (42.2)          (71.9)     (83.7)
 Effect of market and currency movements              7.1         19.2            23.0       22.4
 Increase / (decrease) in period                      1.9         11.4            8.0        6.6
 Opening balance                                      1,098.4     1,219.4         1,092.3    1,224.2
 Assets under Administration at 31 December           1,100.3     1,230.8         1,100.3    1,230.8

 

The movement in AuA is split as follows between Hansard International
(incorporating business reinsured from Hansard Worldwide) and Hansard Europe:

                                                   Six months ended
                                                  31 December
                                              2022                    2021
                                              £m                      £m
 Hansard International                        9.4                     11.7
 Hansard Europe                                        (1.4)          (5.1)
 Increase / (decrease) in period              8.0                     6.6

 

 

FINANCIAL Results for the half-year ENDED 31 December 2022

Financial results for the half-year are expected to be announced on 9 March
2023.

 

Outlook

We expect sales of long-term savings products through Independent Financial
Advisors to continue to be impacted by global economic headwinds. Looking
forward however we are confident that our new product pipeline will lead to
increased sales and long term growth in the business.

 

 

Notes to editors:

·    Hansard Global plc is the holding company of the Hansard Group of
companies. The Company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in December
2006. The Group is a specialist long-term savings provider, based in the Isle
of Man.

·    The Group offers a range of flexible and tax-efficient investment
products within a life assurance policy wrapper, designed to appeal to
affluent, international investors.

·    The Group utilises a controlled cost distribution model via a network
of independent financial advisors and the retail operations of certain
financial institutions who provide access to their clients in more than 170
countries. The Group's distribution model is supported by Hansard OnLine, a
multi-language internet platform, and is scalable.

·    The principal geographic markets in which the Group currently
services contract holders and financial advisors are the Middle East &
Africa, the Far East and Latin America. These markets are served by Hansard
International Limited and Hansard Worldwide Limited.

 

·    Hansard Europe dac previously operated in Western Europe but closed
to new business with effect from 30 June 2013.

·    The Group's objective is to grow by attracting new business and
positioning itself to adapt rapidly to market trends and conditions. The
scalability and flexibility of the Group's operations allow it to enter or
develop new geographic markets and exploit growth opportunities within
existing markets without the need for significant further investment.

 

Forward-looking statements:

This announcement may contain certain forward-looking statements with respect
to certain of Hansard Global plc's plans and its current goals and
expectations relating to future financial condition, performance and results.
By their nature forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties
because they relate to future events and circumstances which are beyond
Hansard Global plc's control. As a result, Hansard Global plc's actual future
condition, performance and results may differ materially from the plans, goals
and expectations set out in Hansard Global plc's forward-looking statements.
Hansard Global plc does not undertake to update forward-looking statements
contained in this announcement or any other forward-looking statement it may
make. No statement in this announcement is intended to be a profit forecast or
be relied upon as a guide for future performance.

 

This announcement contains inside information which is disclosed in accordance
with the Market Abuse Regime.

 

Legal Entity Identifier: 213800ZJ9F2EA3Q24K05

 

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