Challenger eyes higher profits
Challenger is expecting its 2022 financial year net profit before tax to hit the upper end of the $430 million to $480 million guidance range, following life sales jumping 10% to $2.7 billion.
Announcing its third quarter results to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), Challenger pointed to strong institutional and retail annuity sales as the driving factor behind its Life sales.
Meanwhile, group assets under management (AUM) was $100 billion, down 8% for the quarter following the completion of the sale of Whitehelm Capital.
Total life net flows were $491 million for the quarter, including annuity net inflows of $286 million and other life inflows of $205 million, with book growth for its Life business growing 2.8%.
Challenger’s new chief executive, Nick Hamilton, said Challenger had performed well this quarter, highlighting the benefits of its diversification strategy.
“The life business maintained its impressive performance, with book growth of 2.8% for the quarter. Sales growth exceeded 10% across both institutional and retail, reinforcing the success of our strategy to extends our customer reach and broaden our distribution channels.”
Hamilton said product innovation remained a key priority for Challenger and that its market-linked annuity reflects our commitment to meeting the needs of more customers.
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