REG - Phoenix Group Hldgs - 2024 Annual Financial Report

Phoenix groupAnnouncement

17/03/2025 07:15

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RNS Number : 8996A  Phoenix Group Holdings PLC  17 March 2025

 Phoenix Group Holdings plc: 2024 Full Year Results    17 March 2025

Phoenix Group's strong strategic and financial progress drives target upgrades

Commenting on the results announcement, Phoenix Group CEO, Andy Briggs said:

"We made good progress in 2024 executing our 3-year strategy, delivering
sustainable and profitable growth in both our Pensions and Savings and
Retirement Solutions businesses. This has supported strong 2024 financial
performance across our key metrics of cash, capital and earnings.

We are ahead of plan from both a strategic and financial perspective,
delivering Operating Cash Generation of £1.4bn two years ahead of our 2026
target. We continue to operate in the top half of our Shareholder Capital
Coverage Ratio range and our strong cash generation has enabled us to repay
debt whilst also investing in our business. Group IFRS adjusted operating
profit was up 31% supported by particularly strong growth in our capital-light
Pensions and Savings business. This performance has enabled the Board to
recommend a Final dividend of 27.35p per share, representing a 2.6% annual
increase.

Our strong performance in 2024 and the operating momentum we have built will
support us in delivering our growth strategy and have led us to upgrade our
cash generation and adjusted operating profit targets through to 2026.
Delivery will give us the financial flexibility to reduce our leverage, while
also sustaining our progressive dividend for shareholders. It also brings us
closer to realising our vision to be the UK's leading retirement savings and
income business."

Strong 2024 performance across cash, capital and earnings drives upgrades of
our 3-year financial targets

Cash

FY 2024 progress

·    £1,403m Operating Cash Generation(1) ('OCG') (FY 2023: £1,146m)
increased 22%, driven by increased surplus from our growing businesses and
strong delivery of recurring management actions. This more than covers our
recurring uses, including our progressive dividend, and will produce c.£300m
excess cash per annum.

·    £537m of recurring management actions (FY 2023: £313m) enabled by
enhanced capabilities in our scaled asset management function.

·    £1,779m total cash generation(2) (FY 2023: £2,024m) exceeding the
top end of our 2024  £1.4-1.5bn target range.

Upgrading cash targets

·    OCG expected to grow mid-single digit percentage per annum going
forward having achieved the 2026 target of £1.4bn in 2024.

·    Total cash generation cumulative 3-year target increased from £4.4bn
to £5.1bn across 2024-26 driven by the sustained growth in OCG. We therefore
expect to generate excess cash of £1.1bn across 2024-26 and this will be
allocated in accordance with our capital allocation framework, with a clear
focus on deleveraging.

Capital

FY 2024 progress

·    172%(3,4) Shareholder Capital Coverage Ratio ('SCCR') (FY 2023:
176%(3)), remains comfortably in the top-half of our 140-180% operating range.

·    £3.5bn(4) Solvency II ('SII') surplus remains resilient (FY 2023:
£3.9bn), with recurring capital generation of £0.2bn more than offset by
£0.3bn debt repayment and £0.3bn planned investment into our strategic
priorities.

·    We continue to be well-hedged on an economic basis under SII,
experiencing only £0.1bn of adverse economic variances in the year, largely
due to rising yields.

·    £250m of debt repayment in the period, in line with our intention to
retire historic M&A-related debt to support our c.30% SII leverage
ratio(5) target. The ratio at the end of 2024 was flat at 36% (FY 2023: 36%),
with (2)%pts debt repayment benefit offset by a reduction in Regulatory Own
Funds. A further $250m of debt has been repaid post year-end in February.

Reaffirming capital targets

·    Continue to operate within our 140-180% SCCR operating range.

·    Targeting a SII leverage ratio(5) of c.30% by the end of 2026. There
are a number of actions that will underpin the achievement of this target,
most importantly deleveraging enabled by the expected £850m of excess cash
generation remaining, and also supported by £0.3bn of recurring Own Funds
generation per annum.

Earnings

FY 2024 progress

·    IFRS adjusted operating profit increased 31% to £825m (FY 2023:
£629m(6)), driven by profitable growth in both Pensions and Savings (£316m)
(FY 2023: £190m) and Retirement Solutions (£474m) (FY 2023: £378m).

·    £63m of run-rate cost savings delivered by the end of 2024; on track
for our £250m target by the end of 2026.

·    IFRS loss after tax of £(1,078)m (FY 2023: £84m profit(6)),
primarily due to £(1,297)m of adverse economic variances as well as £520m of
non-operating expenses, including planned investment. Economic variances
reflected the accounting mismatch of our hedging programme which protects our
cash and SII capital, and supports our progressive and sustainable dividend
policy.

·    IFRS shareholders' equity therefore reduced to £1,213m (FY 2023:
£2,742m(6)) and IFRS adjusted shareholders' equity including Contractual
Service Margin ('CSM') reduced to £3,656m (FY2023: £4,882m).

·    Contractual Service Margin (gross of tax) grew 14% to £3,257m (FY
2023: £2,853m), driven by new annuity business and positive assumption and
experience changes.

Upgrading earnings targets

·    Now targeting c.£1.1bn of IFRS adjusted operating profit in 2026,
increased from a previous target of £900m. This level of IFRS adjusted
operating profit is expected to fully cover our recurring uses and create an
excess to fund non-recurring uses. Our aim is for IFRS shareholders' equity,
excluding economic variances, to grow in 2027.

·    Continuing to target £250m of annual run-rate cost savings by the
end of 2026 with benefits expected to be back-end loaded.

A progressive and sustainable ordinary dividend policy(8)

·    The Board is recommending a 2.6% increase in the Final 2024 dividend
to 27.35p per share; Total dividend 54.00p per share.

·    In operating its progressive and sustainable dividend policy and
assessing longer-term affordability the Board considers the quantum and
trajectory of the Group's OCG, SII surplus, SCCR, and the distributable
reserves of the Group's holding company. In this overall context and
consistent with previous guidance, and given the Board's confidence in the
Group's 3-year strategy as evidenced by our revised targets, the Board
considers that the Group's consolidated IFRS shareholders' equity is not a
constraint to the payment of our dividends.

·    At 31 December 2024, distributable reserves at Phoenix Group Holdings
plc, the Group's holding company that pays the dividends to shareholders,
stood at £5,571m (FY 2023: £4,632m).

Operating momentum in key trading businesses, underpinned by Phoenix Asset
Management, is delivering sustainable and profitable growth

Pensions and Savings  - our capital-light businesses help customers journey
to and through retirement

·    IFRS adjusted operating profit growth of 66% to £316m (FY 2023:
£190m) driven by 11% growth in average assets under administration ('AUA')
vs. 2023 and cost efficiency leading to operating margin expansion, with a
5bps improvement to 17bps in 2024.

Workplace:

·    Maintained our top-3 market position with 13% growth in Workplace net
fund flows of £5.3bn (FY 2023: £4.7bn) increasing Workplace AUA to £66.5bn.

·    Successfully executing our strategy of retaining our existing schemes
and attracting new ones with record gross flows of £9.3bn (FY 2023: £8.5bn)
including £1.8bn of new scheme wins (FY 2023: £2.0bn) and an 84% improvement
in bulk scheme retention year-on-year.

·    This success has been driven by our leading employer proposition,
excellent digital-first member engagement and competitive pricing.

·    In-year achievements include enhancements to our Master Trust to meet
bespoke customer requirements and new digital tools to support customers'
financial wellness.

Retail

·    34% improvement in retail gross inflows to £5.1bn (FY 2023:
£3.8bn). FY 2024 reflects green shoots of our retail strategy as we pursue
our ambition to become a top-5 player.

·    Delivering growth by better supporting and engaging the one-in-five
adults who are already Phoenix Group customers to stay and consolidate with
us, and to attract new customers, both directly and through advisers.

·    Launched the Standard Life Smoothed Return Pension Fund to meet
evolving customer needs and a new private markets investment manager - Future
Growth Capital - in partnership with Schroders, to unlock additional
investment opportunities in private markets to benefit our customers.

·    Retail gross outflows also rose year on year to £14.1bn reflecting
the run-off profile of our in-force business and higher outflows due to
consumer behaviour in response to the UK budget uncertainty in the year.

Retirement Solutions - our capital utilising businesses help customers secure
income certainty in retirement

·    IFRS adjusted operating profit growth of 25% to £474m (FY 2023:
£378m) driven by £6.1bn of premiums written at a reduced annuity capital
strain(7) of c.3% and c.£200m capital deployed.

Bulk purchase annuities ('BPA')

·    £5.1bn of premiums written in the year (FY 2023: £6.2bn) with
disciplined capital deployment which has enabled us to achieve a top-5 average
position in the BPA market over the last three years.

·    Our success in the market is driven by the excellent member
experience and leading employer proposition we offer together with competitive
pricing driven by our asset management and balance sheet optimisation
capabilities, and an expanding panel of reinsurance partnerships.

·    Introduced digital self-service allowing customers to understand
their annuity position online, in real-time, supported by other communication
channels with a focus on clarity of customer messaging.

Individual annuities

·    Rapidly built a 12% market share of the individual annuity market
having re-entered the market in 2023; £1.0bn individual annuity premiums
written in 2024 (FY 2023: £0.6bn).

·    Expanding our product range to better meet customer needs with the
launch of the Standard Life Guaranteed Fixed-term Income product in September.

·    We can now offer fast, guaranteed pricing with 90% of digital annuity
quotes provided in seconds. The recent launch of the annuity desk for Standard
Life customers supports our great digital customer experience.

Phoenix Asset Management

·    £537m of recurring management actions (FY 2023: £313m) enabled by
enhanced capabilities in our scaled asset management function.

·    Enhanced capabilities have included investment in headcount, which
now comprises 400 full-time employees, investment in leading edge technology,
which supports our robust credit risk management framework.

·    These recurring management actions can be broadly categorised as
annuity portfolio re-optimisation, capital improvements and fund
simplification.

 

Summary of FY2024 financial progress and upgraded targets

           FY2024 Progress                                 Our 3-year targets
 Cash      ·    £1,403m OCG(1)                             Upgraded    ·    Achieved OCG(1) £1.4bn target 2 years early, now expect to grow at
                                                                       mid-single digit percentage per annum going forward
           ·    £1,779m Total cash generation(2)           Upgraded    ·    3-year Total cash generation(2) target upgraded from £4.4bn to
                                                                       £5.1bn
 Capital   ·    172% SCCR(3,4)                             Reaffirmed  ·    140-180% SCCR(3) operating range
           ·    36% Solvency II leverage ratio(5)          Reaffirmed  ·    c.30% Solvency II leverage ratio(5) target by end of 2026
 Earnings  ·    £825m IFRS adjusted operating profit       Upgraded    ·    2026 IFRS adjusted operating profit target upgraded from £900m to
                                                                       c.£1.1bn
           ·    £63m of run-rate cost savings              Reaffirmed  ·    £250m run-rate cost savings target by end of 2026

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Information required under the Disclosure Guidance & Transparency Rules
('DTR')

Information required to be communicated in unedited full text, in accordance
with DTR 6.3.5R(1A), is included in the Annual Report and Accounts.

A copy of Phoenix Group Holdings plc's Annual Report and Accounts for the
period ended 31 December 2024 is available at
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8996A_1-2025-3-16.pdf
(http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8996A_1-2025-3-16.pdf)

In accordance with Listing Rule 6.4.1, a copy of the Annual Report and
Accounts will be submitted to the National Storage Mechanism for inspection
at: https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism
(https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism) and will be available
in due course.

The document may also be accessed via the Phoenix Group website at:
https://www.thephoenixgroup.com/investors/results-reports-and-presentations/
(https://www.thephoenixgroup.com/investors/results-reports-and-presentations/)

 

Enquiries

Investors/analysts:

Claire Hawkins, Director of Corporate Affairs & Brand, Phoenix Group

+44 (0)20 4559 3161

Joanne Roberts, Investor Relations Director, Phoenix Group

+44 (0)20 4559 4673

Media:

Colette Cahill, Teneo

+44 (0)7500 547 034

Shellie Wells, Corporate Communications Director, Phoenix Group

+44 (0)20 4559 3031

Presentation and webcast details

There will be a live virtual presentation for analysts and investors today
starting at 09:30 (GMT). You can register for the live webcast at: Phoenix
Group 2024 full year results
(https://storm-virtual-uk.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_w1srM0TKTDOFn60d2cUzHQ#/registration)

A copy of the presentation and a detailed financial supplement will be
available at:

https://www.thephoenixgroup.com/investors/results-reports-and-presentations/
(https://www.thephoenixgroup.com/investors/results-reports-and-presentations/)

A replay of the presentation and transcript will also be available on our
website following the event.

Dividend details

The recommended Final 2024 dividend of 27.35 pence per share is expected to be
paid on 21 May 2025.

The ordinary shares will be quoted ex-dividend on the London Stock Exchange as
of 3 April 2025. The record date for eligibility for payment will be 4 April
2025.

Footnotes

 1  Operating Cash Generation ('OCG') represents the sustainable level of ongoing
    cash generation from our underlying business operations, that is remitted from
    our Life Companies to the Group.
 2  Total cash generation represents the total cash remitted from the operating
    entities to the Group, comprising OCG, non-recurring management actions and
    the release of free surplus above capital requirements in the Life Companies.
 3  The Shareholder Capital Coverage Ratio excludes Solvency II Own Funds and
    Solvency Capital Requirements of unsupported With-Profit funds and unsupported
    pension schemes.
 4  31 December 2024 Solvency II capital position is an estimated position.
 5  Solvency II leverage ratio calculation = debt (all debt including RT1) / SII
    regulatory Own Funds.  Ratio allows for currency hedges over foreign currency
    denominated debt.
 6  The Group identified material corrections to previously reported results,
    leading to the restatement of 2023 adjusted operating profit from £617m
    reported to £629m, the 2023 loss after tax from £88m as reported to a profit
    of £84m, the 2023 shareholders' equity from £2,496m as reported to £2,742m,
    and 2023 adjusted shareholders' equity from £4,636m as reported to £4,882m.
    Further information on this restatement can be found in note A3 to the
    consolidated financial statements.
 7  Annuity capital strain on a Post Capital Management Policy basis.
 8  The Board will continue to prioritise the sustainability of our dividend over
    the long term. Future dividends and annual increases will be subject to the
    discretion of the Board, following assessment of longer-term affordability. At
    31 December 2024, distributable reserves at Phoenix Group Holdings plc, the
    Group's holding company that pays dividends to shareholders, stood at £5,571
    million (FY 2023: £4,632 million), supported by sizeable distributions from
    its main operating subsidiaries which continue to report under UK GAAP and
    carry significant distributable reserves. In 2024 the Group's main operating
    subsidiaries generated strong UK GAAP net profits after covering hedging ,
    which supported the cash remittances to Group. In the consolidated IFRS
    financial statements, the Group is targeting a positive pre-hedge
    post-dividend IFRS net profit contribution to the IFRS shareholders' equity.
    The Group accepts the hedge-related volatility that impacts IFRS shareholders'
    equity, which is a known consequence of our Solvency II hedging strategy that
    is designed to protect our cash, capital and dividend. In this overall context
    and consistent with previous guidance, the Board considers that the Group's
    consolidated IFRS shareholders' equity is not a constraint to the payment of
    our dividends.

 

Legal Disclaimers

This announcement in relation to Phoenix Group Holdings plc and its
subsidiaries (the 'Group') contains, and the Group may make other statements
(verbal or otherwise) containing, forward-looking statements and other
financial and/or statistical data about the Group's current plans, goals,
targets, ambitions, outlook, guidance and expectations relating to future
financial condition, performance, results, strategy and/or objectives.

Statements containing the words: 'believes', 'intends', 'will', 'may',
'should', 'expects', 'plans', 'aims', 'seeks', 'targets', 'continues' and
'anticipates' or other words of similar meaning are forward looking. Such
forward-looking statements and other financial and/or statistical data involve
known and unknown risks and uncertainty because they relate to future events
and circumstances that are beyond the Group's control. For example, certain
insurance risk disclosures are dependent on the Group's choices about
assumptions and models, which by their nature are estimates. As such, actual
future gains and losses could differ materially from those that the Group has
estimated.

Other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those
estimated by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
domestic and global economic, political, social, environmental and business
conditions; asset prices; market-related risks such as fluctuations in
investment yields, interest rates and exchange rates, the potential for a
sustained low-interest rate or high interest rate environment, and the
performance of financial or credit markets generally; the policies and actions
of governmental and/or regulatory authorities including, for example, climate
change and the effect of the UK's version of the 'Solvency II' regulations on
the Group's capital maintenance requirements; developments in the UK's
relationship with the European Union; the direct and indirect consequences of
the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East for European and global
macroeconomic conditions, and related or other geopolitical conflicts;
political uncertainty and instability including the rise in protectionist
measures; the impact of changing inflation rates (including high inflation)
and/or deflation; information technology (including Artificial Intelligence)
or data security breaches (including the Group being subject to
cyber-attacks); the development of standards and interpretations including
evolving practices in sustainability and climate reporting with regard to the
interpretation and application of accounting; the limitation of climate
scenario analysis and the models that analyse them; lack of transparency and
comparability of climate-related forward-looking methodologies; climate change
and a transition to a low-carbon economy (including the risk that the Group
may not achieve its targets); the Group's ability along with governments and
other stakeholders to measure, manage and mitigate the impacts of climate
change effectively; market competition; changes in assumptions in pricing and
reserving for insurance business (particularly with regard to mortality and
morbidity trends, gender pricing and lapse rates); the timing, impact and
other uncertainties of any acquisitions, disposals or other strategic
transactions; risks associated with arrangements with third parties; inability
of reinsurers to meet obligations or unavailability of reinsurance coverage;
and the impact of changes in capital, and implementing changes in IFRS 17 or
any other regulatory, solvency and/or accounting standards, and tax and other
legislation and regulations in the jurisdictions in which members of the Group
operate.

As a result, the Group's actual future financial condition, performance and
results may differ materially from the plans, goals, targets, ambitions,
outlook, guidance and expectations set out in the forward-looking statements
and other financial and/or statistical data within this announcement. The
information in this announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or an
invitation to buy securities in Phoenix Group Holdings plc or an invitation or
inducement to engage in any other investment activities. The Group undertakes
no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements or data
contained within this announcement or any other forward-looking statements or
data it may make or publish. Nothing in this announcement constitutes, nor
should it be construed as, a profit forecast or estimate. No representation is
made that any of these statements will come to pass or that any future results
will be achieved. As a result, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance
on such forward-looking statements contained in this presentation.

 

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