Hibernian revenues boosted by pension sales

IMPROVED pension sales boosted revenues at Hibernian Life and Pensions for the first nine months of the year, the company’s British parent said yesterday.

Total sales increased 9% to £179 million (€263m), while premiums earned were 15% ahead at £63million.

Sales of regular premium pension products were 14% higher than the same period last year, while single-premium sales were 20% ahead.

The company said sales of Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) remained disappointing, but this was a problem faced by all players in the market.

Sales of life assurance were mixed, with a better performance on regular premium business undermined by a fall in single-premium product sales, which were 24% lower at £32 million. It blamed investor caution and lower demand for unit-linked and with-profits policies.

Overall margins tumbled from 28.5% last year to 22.3% for the nine months, while the division’s contribution to group profits fell £2 million to £14 million.

Parent company Aviva said the group’s nine-month performance showed good sales growth and improved profitability from new business. Chief executive Richard Harvey said the company would continue to have a “rigorous” focus on profitable growth.

Overall sales from the group’s life and pensions and investment operations were 13% higher than last year at almost £12 billion.

Premiums earned totalled almost £2 billion, a 9% uplift. The company’s British operations delivered a 9% increase in life and pensions sales but saw investment sales soar more than 30% to £664 million. Aviva said it would build on its bancassurance capability, which had benefited from an alliance with Dutch bank ABN-Amro.

It also signed a similar deal with French bank Credit du Nord recently. Mr Harvey added that it would become a significant player in Asia. It has opened two offices in China and has extended in India through a sales relationship with a leading bank there.