Hansard Global plc (“Hansard” or “the Group”), the specialist long-term savings provider, issues its results for the six months ended 31 December 2021. All figures refer to the six months ended 31 December 2021 (“H1 2022”), except where indicated.

• New business levels for the Group on a Present Value of New Business Premiums (“PVNBP”) basis were £64.9m for H1 2022 (H1 2021: £76.3m);
• IFRS profit before tax was £1.9m for the period, down from £2.9m in H1 2021. This was primarily as a result of a £1.0m provision against fees and other receivables following fair value impairments to a specific range of funds in liquidation. The impairment of fair value has reduced the likelihood of liquidation proceeds and therefore the recovery of amounts due to the
• Group. There are no further financial exposures relating to this fund range and any fees recoverable out of any future liquidation proceeds received will be recorded on a cash received basis;
• Fees and commissions earned totalled £25.2m for H1 2022 compared to £25.6m in H1 2021;
• Assets under administration were £1.23 billion as at 31 December 2021 (30 June 2021: £1.22 billion);
• Value of in-force as at 31 December 2021 was £140.6m (30 June 2021: £145.8m);
• Contingent liabilities arising out of litigation in Hansard Europe were down 9% to £22.4m since 31 December 2021;
• The Board has declared an interim dividend of 1.8p per share (H1 2021: 1.8p);
• The Group has continued its investment in future growth initiatives across its product proposition and systems environment;
• The Group continues to work with its prospective Japanese distribution partner towards a suitable launch date, against the current challenging background of Covid-19 in Japan.

OUTLOOK

The external global environment and the ability for our Independent Financial Advisor (“IFA”) distribution channel to grow new long-term savings business continues to be challenging as Covid-19 related restrictions and economic confidence fluctuate. We therefore expect IFA sales for FY 2022 to be lower than FY 2021 but note that will not have a material impact to our profit under International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). This is because initial income and origination costs are deferred at point of sale and recognised over the lifetime of contracts sold. The £1.0m impact to our IFRS profit from provisions against fees and other receivables is not expected to be made up elsewhere in H2 of our financial year and if no related recovery is achieved prior to 30 June 2022 we expect our full year profit to be lower than planned by that amount. The provision does not otherwise reflect on our expectations for future trading results.

We remain confident that our Japanese product will successfully launch when the environment improves in Japan and that it will produce long-term business growth for the Group.

NEXT TRADING UPDATE

The next trading update in respect of our financial year ending 30 June 2022 is expected to be published on 5 May 2022.

GRAHAM SHEWARD, GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, COMMENTED:

“Covid-19 continues to provide a challenging backdrop for our business and in particular for launching our new product in Japan, where new States of Emergency were declared in several regions in January. We continue to work with our prospective distribution partner towards a suitable launch date in a positive and engaged manner.

We are also taking a number of actions to improve new business levels both with respect to our traditional business and by progressing opportunities to deploy new products more widely in Japan and in other suitable territories around the world.”

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