PRUDENTIAL DELIVERS BROAD-BASED GROWTH AND INCREASED CASH GENERATION
Group Performance Highlights (on constant exchange rate basis):
IFRS operating profit of £4,007 million, up 22 per cent
EEV new business profit of £2,617 million, up 20 per cent
Underlying free surplus generation (after investment in new business) of £3,050 million, up 15 per cent
Net cash remittances from business units of £1,625 million, up 10 per cent
Business Units Performance Highlights (on constant exchange rate basis):
Asia life and asset management IFRS operating profit of £1,324 million, up 17 per cent
Jackson life IFRS operating profit of £1,691 million, up 10 per cent
UK life IFRS operating profit of £1,167 million, up 60 per cent
M&G IFRS operating profit of £442 million, down 1 per cent
Capital & Dividend:
IFRS shareholders' funds of £13.0 billion, up 10 per cent
EEV shareholders' funds of £32.4 billion, up 11 per cent, equivalent to 1,258 pence per share
Group Solvency II capital surplus estimated at £9.7 billion
2015 full year ordinary dividend increased by 5 per cent to 38.78 pence per share
Special dividend of 10 pence per share
Commenting on the results, Mike Wells, Group Chief Executive, said:
"We have delivered a strong performance in 2015. We continue to grow across our key metrics despite the macroeconomic uncertainty and the challenges presented by low long-term interest rates. IFRS operating profit increased 22 per cent to £4,007 million and EEV new business profit grew 20 per cent to £2,617 million. The Group's underlying free surplus generation increased by 15 per cent to £3,050 million and cash remittances from business units were up 10 per cent to £1,625 million. These results represent good progress towards the 2017 growth and cash objectives, which we set out at the December 2013 investor conference in London.
"In Asia, our portfolio of businesses remains focused on serving the protection and investment needs of the growing middle classes in the region through a high-quality agency force and well-established bank partnerships. Our life and asset management businesses delivered a combined IFRS operating profit of £1,324 million, up 17 per cent. Life APE sales were 26 per cent higher at £2,853 million and generated a 28 per cent increase in EEV new business profit to £1,490 million. Despite this strong sales performance, our focus on growth and cash in the region also saw underlying free surplus generation rise 16 per cent to £673 million. Eastspring, our Asian asset management business, achieved record third-party net inflows of £6.0 billion, driving its total funds under management to a new high of £89.1 billion.
"In the US, we continue to meet the needs of the 'baby-boomer' generation transitioning into retirement. Jackson's disciplined execution delivered good returns to our shareholders, with life IFRS operating profit up 10 per cent to £1,691 million and cash remittances to Group 13 per cent higher to a record £470 million. Our success in capturing strong variable annuity inflows at attractive margins drove our separate account asset base up 5 per cent1 to £91.0 billion.
