Royal London H1 before-tax profit up 71%

The life and pensions company says the £357m figure, on an EEV basis, was due to “strong investment markets and growth in the pension fund surplus”. A 31% drop in operating profit, to £66m, has been attributed to a significant block annuity Prudential transaction last year. New business contribution was up 50% to £27m, embedded value pushed 17% higher to £2.33bn, while funds under management increased £1.9bn to £32.7bn. Royal London group chief executive Mike Yardley says he was particularly pleased with the asset management arm, with £7m of external mandates won. “As a number of other ...