Friends provident have enjoyed strong growth in Q1 of this year, driven in part by rising sales of pension annuities. Overall sales were up by 19% generating a revenue of £178 million, which compares favourably with like for like sales in the same period 12 months ago of £149 million. Sales in the UK totaled £88 million for this quarter, which represents a rise of 37% on Q1 2009. Despite the impressive company figures, some products saw a slight fall in sales such as Group pensions.
The company conceded that sales growth was partly boosted by a one-off instance of customers (whose ages range from 50 and 55) taking out retirement products before the April 4 deadline. From that date on, the early retirement age was increased to 55.
Trevor Matthews who is CEO at Friends Provident stated that the company would continue to focus on it’s core product offering saying that…“…In the UK, our key priorities are in individual protection and group pensions. While we are working to drive forward our new tied distribution deals, individual protection sales have been constrained so far this year by the sluggish housing market.”
Despite the encouraging revenue figures, Mr Matthew’s said that the outlook for the rest of the year remained challenging.
