Aegon new life sales hit £758m in 2012

The increase was driven by higher new life sales in the last quarter of 2012, which were up 53% to £247m up from £161m in the fourth quarter of 2011. Aegon said the strong fourth quarter results were due to strong growth in group pensions. Underlying earnings before tax increased from minus £22m in Q4 2011 to £20m in Q4 2012, mainly driven by the non-recurrence of exceptional charges recorded in the previous year, and the successful implementation of the cost reduction program in the Aegon UK business. Full year underlying earnings before tax increased from £5m in 2011 to £85m in 2...