Chesnara have announced their Economic Value at £645.1m, which is 3% higher than at the end of 2018, after payment of the 2018 final dividend of £20.2m, despite the negative impact of a weakening Swedish krona. The results in the period support the continued growth of the dividend to 7.43p per share (2018 interim: 7.21p per share).
Other financial highlights include:
ECONOMIC VALUE (EcV) OF £645.1M (31 December 2018: £626.1m)
The movement is stated after recognising £20.2m of dividend payments and a foreign exchange loss of £7.9m during the period.
EcV EARNINGS NET OF TAX OF £47.1M (six months ended 30 June 2018: £13.6m)
All divisions have made material positive contributions to the overall Economic Value earnings of £47.1m.
EcV NEW BUSINESS CONTRIBUTION OF £3.8M (six months ended 30 June 2018: £5.3m)
New business profits have continued to emerge from Movestic after a slow start to the year with a reduction in transfers in. Scildon's new business operation is showing promise, although there remains work to be done.
GROUP CASH GENERATION OF £13.4M (six months ended 30 June 2018: £48.6m)
The 2019 result includes a cash strain of £13.1m from the "symmetric adjustment" impact. The prior year comparison benefited from £20m of net releases from the with-profits fund.
DIVISIONAL CASH GENERATION OF £2.4M (six months ended 30 June 2018: £53.1m)
The impact of equity growth and interest rate reductions on Own Funds and SCR resulted in cash utilisation in our European divisions, while the UK business continued to deliver solid cash generation.
GROUP SOLVENCY RATIO OF 155% (31 December 2018: 158%)
We are well capitalised at both group and subsidiary level under Solvency II.
IFRS PROFIT BEFORE TAX OF £66.6M (six months ended 30 June 2018: £26.5m)
Strong results in Scildon and the UK drive substantial profits for the period, with positive contributions from all operating businesses. Both Scildon and the UK benefited from improved investment market conditions compared to the comparative period, with the group generating economic profits of £43.2m for the first half of 2019.
IFRS TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME OF £51.0M (six months ended 30 June 2018: £14.9m)
This includes a foreign exchange loss of £3.5m (2018: £6.9m loss).
