Royal London: Insurer’s profits up 58 per cent as asset troubles offset by pensions growth
Royal London today said it successfully boosted its profits by 58 per cent in 2022 in the face of “difficult market conditions”.
The insurer saw its operating profits jump to £210m as the adverse impacts on its asset management arm were offset by strong performances across the rest of its business.
Royal London, the UK’s largest mutual insurer, benefited from high employment which saw its workplace pensions segment grow by 29 per cent, to £4.1bn.
This offset a major drop in profits from Royal London’s asset management business, due to 2022’s “challenging investment environment”.
Royal London’s investment segment saw its operating profits fall 54 per cent, from £71m in 2021 to £32m in 2022, as the value of its assets plummeted by £20.3bn, to £147.2bn at the end of 2022.
The mutual also suffered from heightened competition in the insurance market, as sales of its protection products fell 17 per cent to £1bn.
The firm was, however, able to successfully navigate the challenging environment, as it controlled its costs in the face of soaring inflation by streamlining its operations.
Royal London’s chief executive Barry O’Dwyer said the mutual had “continued to see good growth, delivering a 12% increase in new business sales in 2022.”
“Supported by our focus on cost efficiency as we have streamlined our operations, this has driven a 58% increase in operating profit,” O’Dwyer said.