- Sales (measured in APE*) in the fourth quarter amounted to £368 million compared to £305 million for the same quarter of 2008 (an increase of 21%). Sales for the year were £873 million compared to £1,005 million for the previous year (a decrease of 13%)
- Lombard sales reflected the seasonal profile of previous years at £199 million for the fourth quarter, bringing the total for 2009 to £273 million. 2008 sales for Lombard were £246 million
- New protection business partnerships with Tesco Bank and Virgin Money are now on stream following successful implementation
- 33% growth in funds under management on the New Generation Pensions (NGP) platform to £9.7 billion at 31 December 2009, compared to £7.3 billion at the end of 2008
- Estimated IGD surplus maintained at £0.9 billion at 31 December 2009
Trevor Matthews, chief executive officer of the Friends Provident Group, said: “We continued our turnaround at Friends Provident in the fourth quarter. Thanks to Lombard’s excellent finish to the year, in particular in the Italian and Belgian markets, and a third consecutive quarter of growth in both Friends Provident International and in the UK, we delivered record fourth quarter sales results. This was a strong performance against the backdrop of a year of economic troubles and volatile financial markets. We have made steady progress with initiatives including the implementation of our new distribution arrangement with Tesco Bank and we are on track to deliver our corporate platform in 2010. We have good prospects overseas and we believe despite the tough conditions in the UK the work we have done to reshape our business and preserve our financial strength gives us a solid base on which to build in 2010.”
