Just Group PLC

Management Reports • Oct 31, 2018

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RNS Number : 7696F

Just Group PLC

31 October 2018

NEWS RELEASE	www.justgroupplc.co.uk

31 October 2018

JUST GROUP plc

BUSINESS UPDATE FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Just Group plc ("Just", "the Group") announces a business update for the period ended 30 September 2018.

Highlights

·	Retirement Income sales for 9M18 were 44% higher than for 9M17, driven by the continued growth in Defined Benefit De-risking ("DB") sales.
·	DB sales for 9M18 were up 91% to £1,081m.  The market for de-risking is buoyant and we are being increasingly selective to maximise returns.
·	Guaranteed Income for Life ("GIfL") sales for 9M18 were up 3% to £627m. Volumes have slowed as pricing increases have taken effect.
·	Lifetime Mortgage ("LTM") advances of £483m were up 32% on 9M17.  This is in line with the very robust market growth we are seeing.
·	Just Group has submitted its response to consultation paper ("CP") 13/18 and awaits the publication of the Prudential Regulation Authority's ("PRA") final supervisory statement.  The Board is preparing for a wide range of possible outcomes and remains in constructive dialogue with the PRA.

Just Group new business1	9 months to 30/09/18	9 months to 30/09/17	Change	3 months to 30/09/18	3 months to 30/09/17	Change
	£m	£m	%	£m	£m	%
Defined Benefit De-risking	1,081	564	91	363	269	35
Guaranteed Income for Life	627	607	3	201	217	(8)
Care Plans	52	52	0	17	18	(3)
Retirement Income sales	1,760	1,223	44	581	504	15
Drawdown	38	37	4	14	14	1
Total Retirement sales	1,798	1,260	43	595	518	15
Protection2	1	4	NM	-	1	NM
Lifetime mortgage loans advanced	483	367	32	170	137	25
Total new business sales	2,282	1,631	40	765	656	17

Rodney Cook, Group Chief Executive, said:

"I am pleased to report another excellent quarter, demonstrating the strength of the Group's positioning and strategy. The markets in which we operate are generally buoyant.  The Defined Benefit market has seen increased activity all year and the industry pipeline is very strong.  In the GIfL market, shopping around continues to grow as a proportion of the total, helped by Financial Conduct Authority initiatives.  Customer appetite for lifetime mortgages is increasing and supply from insurers is growing, all helping to stimulate strong market growth.

We remain focused on achieving attractive returns on capital from new business and, in anticipation of the potential increase in capital requirements as a result of CP13/18, we have strengthened our pricing discipline further during the quarter.  Whilst the price increases will affect sales in the final quarter we remain confident of delivering a strong performance for the year.

CP13/18 is for us primarily a back book issue.  The Group has no further clarity on the outcome of the consultation but has continued to work hard to make detailed plans for a range of potential outcomes.  We welcome the announcement by the PRA last week that the implementation date for the final proposals will not be before 31 December 2019.  A longer implementation period provides greater flexibility to execute any necessary capital management actions."

New business sales by quarter1 (£m)

3 months to:	30 Sep 2018	30 Jun 2018	31 Mar 2018	31 Dec 2017	30 Sep 2017	30 Jun 2017	31 Mar 2017	31 Dec 2016	30 Sep 2016
Defined Benefit De-risking	363	469	249	434	269	170	125	365	414
Guaranteed Income for Life	201	238	188	213	217	216	174	174	207
Care Plans	17	18	18	20	18	17	17	19	20
Retirement Income	581	725	454	666	504	403	317	559	641
Drawdown	14	13	11	14	14	11	12	10	9
Total Retirement sales	595	738	465	681	518	414	328	569	650
Protection2	-	-	1	2	1	1	2	1	2
LTM loans advanced	170	162	151	142	137	124	107	95	143
Total new business sales	765	900	617	826	656	539	436	665	795

Notes

1.     Numbers in table subject to rounding.

2.     Protection closed to new business in Q4 17. Q1 18 Protection new business sales represented applications in the pipeline. 

Enquiries Investors / Analysts James Pearce, Director of Group Finance Telephone: +44 (0) 7715 085 099 james.pearce@wearejust.co.uk Alistair Smith, Investor Relations Manager Telephone: +44 (0) 1737 232 792 alistair.smith@wearejust.co.uk	Media Stephen Lowe, Group Communications Director Telephone: +44 (0) 1737 827 301 press.office@wearejust.co.uk Temple Bar Advisory Alex Child-Villiers William Barker Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7002 1080

FINANCIAL CALENDAR	DATE
Results for the year ended 31 December 2018	14 March 2019

A copy of this announcement will be available on the Group's website www.justgroupplc.co.uk

JUST GROUP PLC

GROUP COMMUNICATIONS

Vale House, Roebuck Close

Bancroft Road, Reigate

Surrey RH2 7RU

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