Legal & General 2022 Operating Profit Beats Views

By Elena Vardon

Legal & General Group PLC on Wednesday posted an operating profit beat for 2022 and said it is highly confident in its strategy to continue to deliver growth.

The FTSE 100-listed insurance company reported an operating profit of 2.52 billion pounds ($2.98 billion) for the year ended Dec. 31, ahead of the GBP2.45 billion expected by a company-compiled consensus. This represents a 12% on-year increase compared with the GBP2.26 billion reported for 2021, ahead of the group's 8% growth guidance.

Pretax profit rose to GBP2.66 billion from GBP2.49 billion on the higher operating result and positive investment variance, it said.

Its solvency coverage ratio--a key measure of balance-sheet strength--stood at 236% compared with consensus' expected 226% and 187% in 2021.

L&G estimates a coverage ratio of 240% at March 3, it said.

Its cash generation for the year was GBP1.9 billion, up 14%, and capital generation GBP1.8 billion, up 10%.

The board raised the full-year dividend to 19.37 pence per share from 18.45 pence a year earlier, in line with consensus and the group's 5% annual growth guidance.

"We remain highly confident in our strategy and in our ability to deliver resilient, organic growth, supported by our strong competitive positioning in attractive and growing markets," said the group.

Write to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 08, 2023 02:35 ET (07:35 GMT)

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