HANSARD Global is showing signs that maybe the recession has bottomed-out with the announcement that it has seen strong growth in new business volumes.
The company said today that its PVNBP (Present Value of New Business Premiums) was up 33% to £221.1m for the year (2010: £166.3m) and that regular premium new business of £112.0m for the year is 62.3% above the level of the previous year (2010: £69.0m).
Leonard Polonsky, chairman of Hansard Global plc, said the performance of the group was “encouraging despite the volatile markets and uncertain economic outlook.”
He added, “New business momentum has continued and new business volumes have now returned to levels that we had achieved prior to the global financial crisis. In line with our strategy we have seen particularly good growth in regular premium flows, therefore providing a more consistent and predictable income stream.
“In the absence of further deterioration in macroeconomic conditions, we are confident that the outlook for sustained growth in new business and profitability remains positive for the group.
“Increased new business flows from Latin America and the Far East reflect the increased marketing activity in those regions, and whilst growth has eased from the rates seen earlier in the year, we remain confident of continuing momentum.”
New business in the last quarter of this financial year was £59.0m PVNBP, an increase of 24% over the previous quarter (Q3 2011). The Group’s focus on growth markets has been rewarded by strong levels of higher margin regular premium business.
New business volumes for the quarter and the year ended 30 June 2011 on the group’s internal metric and on two metrics widely used by the market are summarised as follows. Comparisons are on an actual currency basis.
Hansard continues to generate the majority of its new business from Latin America and the Far East, demonstrating the success of the increased marketing efforts in those regions. This is predominantly regular premium business introduced by Independent Financial Advisors, many of whom use the Hansard OnLine new business functionality introduced in the early part of this financial year.
Increasing levels of new business from these growth markets are reflected in the increased proportion of regular premium flows and, therefore, in the increased new business margin.
Regular premium flows of £112.0m PVNBP for the year are 62.3% above the £69.0m of the previous year. Regular premium products accounted for 50.7% of the Group’s PVNBP in the year (2010: 41.5%) and 52.4% of the total PVNBP in the final quarter. This is consistent with our strategy of attracting a greater mix of regular versus single premium flows.
Assets under Administration at 30 June 2011 of £1.2 billion have increased by 7.4% since 30 June 2010.
