Hansard sees AuM improve as it expects further growth in Far East

Long-term savings and financial services operator Hansard Global reported full-year growth, but said it expects to report an increase in its expenses in the second half of its current financial year, resulting in lower profit.

New business for the year ended 30 June 2019 was £155.9m in Present Value of New Business Premiums terms, up 6.3% compared to £146.6mn for FY 2018. During the fourth quarter, new business was up from £36.8mn to £47.6m between Q4 2018 and Q4 2019.

Hansard Global added that its venture in teh UAE delivered stong growth. Assets under Administration (AuM) rose to £1.08bn at 30 June 2019, in line with market movements.

The company said it expects its second-half profit to be "significantly" lower than in the first half, due to the development costs for a new administration system and licensing and development costs for Japanese proposition. Hansard also said it saw an increased litigation defence costs, lower surrender charge income from contractholder withdrawals and lower fee income from Hansard Europe.

Hansard International has secured an Investment Manager licence in Japan, in what is the FTSE-listed savings provider first step to enable the company to enter the Japanese market, as reported by International Investment.

"We are delighted to have achieved a 6% growth in sales in the 2019 financial year given the amount of regulatory change taking place in our market.  While we have incurred a number of costs for the full year to support future growth and improve operational efficiency, our implemented strategy in the UAE is proving a significant success and we look forward to capitalising on our recently announced licence in Japan during the course of the current financial year," Gordon Marr, group chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Hansard will announce its annual results on September 26.

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