L&G reports 2017 operating profit of £2.0bn with record PRT volumes

In protection, Legal & General Insurance (LGI) gross premiums increased 5% to £2.5bn compared with £2.4bn in the prior year. The company reported that this premium growth formed part of the broader 12% increase in operating profit from continuing operations excluding mortality releases. Across the group, profit before tax rose 32% to £2,090m and profit after tax rose 50% to £1,902m, capturing the combined impact of business line growth and reserve actions.

Legal & General reported that it ended the year with over £3.4bn of cash, stating it was well placed to grow further in 2018. The group increased its full-year dividend by 7% to 15.35p per share, up from 14.35p, aligning distributions with the higher profit and cash position. Management said the record operating profit and strong cash generation supported both the dividend uplift and future growth ambitions.

The group linked the mortality reserve release directly to the longevity trend review completed in H2, positioning it as a discrete capital and reserving action within the 2017 results. Legal & General stated that it entered 2018 with over £3.4bn of cash and a higher dividend base, following a year of record operating profit and material reserve actions. The next phase of delivery will depend on how underlying 12–13% operating profit growth, excluding mortality releases, translates into future cash generation and capital deployment.

Sources: group.legalandgeneral.com · ig.com