Phoenix Group Holdings PLC (LON:PHNX) has generated £707mln of cash, up from £664mln last year, already more than its target for the year.
In a trading update ahead of its capital markets day on Thursday, the FTSE 100-listed life insurance consolidator said it has written £1.1bn of new bulk purchase annuities (BPA) in the first three quarters of 2019, with £0.6bn added so far in the second half.
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New open business, which is mainly sold via Standard Life Aberdeen PLC (LON:SL.), saw a reduction in cash generation, with £205mln of incremental cash compared to a proforma £220mln this time last year.
Moreover, the BPA's contracted this year are expected to bring in £235mln of incremental cash, down from the £250mln this time last year when contracted liabilities were £0.8bn.
The Solvency II surplus was unchanged at £3bn at the end of September, while the group' shareholder capital coverage ratio slipped to 156% from 160% at the end of June.
After completing the acquisition of Standard Life Assurance at the end of August last year, Phoenix said it remains on track to deliver £1.2bn of targeted synergies.
Phoenix's chief executive Clive Bannister, who is retiring in March, said: “This trading update further reinforces Phoenix's conviction in its business model and its capacity to generate cash, deliver resilience and exploit multiple avenues of growth to deliver long-term sustainable cash generation, not just today but in the years ahead.”
In a note to clients, broker Shore Capital said cash generation is the “key metric” but noted a couple of concerns were raised by Phoenix's new business metrics, including the lower incremental cash from BPAs that “suggests that the margin on the business written this year has reduced”.
The ShoreCap analysts added: “The question (which is not answered in this brief statement) is whether this slow down can be entirely attributed to Brexit uncertainty impacting new net inflows or if there is an underlying trend of lower sales volumes.”