Value of New Business Up 24 Per Cent
Strong Earnings Growth and Increased Dividend
Hong Kong, 26 February 2015 – The Board of Directors of AIA Group Limited (stock code: 1299) is pleased to announce that AIA has achieved another excellent set of results for the year ended 30 November 2014. The highlights of AIA's performance in 2014 include:
The highlights of AIA's performance in 2014 include:
Record value of new business (VONB)
- 24 per cent growth in VONB to US$1,845 million
- Annualised new premium (ANP) of US$3,700 million, up 11 per cent
- 5.0 pps increase in VONB margin to 49.1 per cent
Strong IFRS operating profit growth
- 16 per cent growth in IFRS operating profit after tax (OPAT) to US$2,910 million
- IFRS operating earnings per share up 16 per cent to 24.31 US cents
- Net profit up 22 per cent to US$3,450 million
Sustainable value creation and robust capital position
- 14 per cent growth in embedded value (EV) operating profit to US$4,535 million
- US$4.2 billion increase in EV Equity to US$39.0 billion, up 12 per cent
- Solvency ratio for AIA Co. of 427 per cent on the HKICO basis
The Board of Directors has recommended a final dividend increase of 19 per cent to 34.00 Hong Kong cents per share, subject to shareholders' approval. This brings the total dividend for 2014 to 50.00 Hong Kong cents per share.
Mark Tucker, AIA's Group Chief Executive and President, said:
"AIA achieved another excellent set of results in 2014, delivering a record VONB of US$1,845 million, up 24 per cent from 2013. Our performance is a clear reflection of the strength of AIA's business model, the determined execution of our proven growth strategy and our position as the leading insurer exclusively focused on the Asia-Pacific region. The consistency in our performance year on year, with each of our key financial metrics reaching new highs, demonstrates AIA's potential for future value creation.
"Asia is one of the world's most attractive and dynamic insurance markets. Urbanisation, rising disposable incomes, relatively low levels of social welfare and a rapidly-growing middle class continue to provide enormous structural growth opportunities across our markets. AIA is exceptionally well-positioned with our market-leading positions, extensive geographical reach, deep experience in Asia and exceptional financial strength.We are committed to growing our business by helping our customers meet their long-term protection needs and wealth aspirations. We will continue to do this in a way that reflects our aim of making a difference to the real lives of people and their communities.
"We have achieved a great deal since our IPO but, as I have said many times before, I strongly believe that we are still at an early stage in a long journey to realising AIA's full potential. That is a very exciting prospect for our business. 2015 will be our fifth year since becoming an independently listed company and throughout this time we have generated year-on-year profitable growth and made substantial progress in delivering increase in long-term sustainable value for our shareholders. The Board has recommended a 19 per cent increase in our final dividend, a clear reflection of the health of our business, the strong results and our confidence in AIA's outstanding prospects."
Tan Hak Leh, AIA Singapore's Chief Executive Officer, said:
"AIA Singapore continued to sustain its strong growth momentum, delivering a 22% increase in Annualised New Premium (ANP) to US$489 million and Value of New Business (VONB) grew 11% to US$299 million, compared to 2013.The strong performance is largely attributed to increase uptake of protection, long-term savings and legacy plans.
"AIA Singapore continued to achieve a steady increase of 8% in Operating Profit After Tax (OPAT) to US$429 million.
"AIA Singapore is invested in Singapore's future and we continue to play a key role contributing to our community's financial well-being. With that, we continue to introduce innovations that will provide protection and greater peace of mind among families in Singapore to help them focus on achieving their dreams and aspirations in life.
"This is a major priority for us at AIA Singapore as we celebrate SG50, taking on a more proactive role in supporting, enabling and empowering everyone in terms of their financial health.
"While more can be done, we are heartened to note that our efforts continue to help narrow the protection gap in Singapore. Our efforts have also contributed to strong business performance for the financial year amidst a challenging year for the industry.
"AIA Singapore's success can be primarily attributed to:
- Introduction of innovative protection solutions to cater to the wealth management,retirement and legacy planning needs of the fast-growing demographics.
- Raising the competence of our AIA Financial Services Consultants through investment in talent development and continuous training.
- Enhanced ease of doing business with AIA through investment in our systems and streamlined business processes.
- Deep engagement in the well-being of families in Singapore through AIA Vitality and other health-related community programmes.
"The company's strong performance was also attributed to the company's expanded partnerships with brokers and banks, including the launch of our exclusive partnership with Citibank, to successfully reach out to different segments of the community.
AIA Singapore also affirmed its leadership in group insurance. The company was honoured to be the No. 1 Employee Insurance Vendor of the Year 2014 for a record 9th¹ year and No. 1 Employee Healthcare Provider of the Year 2014, for 2 consecutive years. AIA Singapore recently introduced another innovative solution for employee benefits with the FIRST-INMARKET Mobile Application – AIA Employee Care, which provides employees who are covered by AIA Singapore under the AIA Employee Benefits Scheme to view their employee benefits and, easy and secured access to insurance claims submission while they are on-thego."
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About AIA
AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively "AIA" or the "Group") comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has operations in 17 markets in Asia-Pacific – wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Macau, Brunei, a 97 per cent subsidiary in Sri Lanka, a 26 per cent joint venture in India and a representative office in Myanmar.
The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai over 90 years ago. It is a market leader in the Asia-Pacific region (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$167 billion as of 30 November 2014.
AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, AIA serves the holders of more than 28 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.
AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code "1299" with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the overthe-counter market (ticker symbol: "AAGIY").
