Phoenix Group group chief executive officer Andy Briggs
Phoenix Group has reported £872m of cash generation for the first half of 2021, placing it on track to meet its full-year target despite pre-tax losses of £454m.
The provider's H1 2021 results, published today (11 August), show a group operating profit of £527m, up from £361m for the first half of 2020.
Assets under administration sat at £304bn on 30 June 2021, a near 10% drop from the £338bn recorded on 31 December 2020.
Phoenix attributed the loss to the planned disposals of the Wrap SIPP, onshore bond, and various other products to Abrdn - formerly Standard Life Aberdeen - from which it bought the Standard Life brand in February this year.
However, the recorded cash generation of £872m is more than double the recorded figure for H1 2020.
Group chief executive officer Andy Briggs said the group's focus for the remainder of 2021 was to meet its £1.5bn to £1.6bn cash generation target range, invest in both its open business and the Standard Life brand, and assess further value-accretive merger and acquisition opportunities across the group.
He added: "Phoenix has made further strong progress against our stated priorities of cash, resilience and growth. We maintained a highly resilient balance sheet and we delivered 15% growth in new business long-term cash generation to £412m. I am also pleased with the strategic progress we made in the period.
"Our ownership of the Standard Life brand will support our open growth strategy, while the disposal of Ark Life will maximise value for shareholders and simplify our European operations."
The first half of this year has also seen Phoenix more than double its investment ESG-related illiquid assets to £788m. The group also joined the institutional investors Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance group - committed at transitioning portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
"We remain fully committed to our sustainability agenda which is aligned with our purpose of 'helping people secure a life of possibilities'," Briggs added. "We have made good progress against our sustainability targets, including directing almost £800m of long-term investment into ESG-related projects and we remain well placed to support the UK to build back better and greener."
Within the results, the company also confirmed it had completed around £1.4bn of bulk annuity deals since the start of the year, including a £1bn buy-in with its own scheme.
