Chair's update
Dear Shareholder
It was good to see all of you who attended our AGM at Norwich City Football Club at the beginning of May, whether joining in person or watching online. As ever, the event was an invaluable opportunity to update everyone on our progress as a company, as well as taking questions from shareholders about the issues that matter to you.
For those of you who missed the meeting, Amanda’s presentation set out a summary of Aviva’s strong, consistent performance over the year, as well as our strategic progress and areas of focus for the months ahead and you can watch by following the link below.
Below you will also find details of our recent first quarter trading update, which once more extended our track record of consistent delivery. Our continued trading momentum is further testament to the strong growth opportunities across our diversified business. That performance puts us on track to meet, or exceed, our Group targets at the same time as providing you with an attractive and growing dividend.
You will also find in this update news of recent investment in innovation and sustainability, further good news on one of our target growth areas of Bulk Purchase Annuities, and the latest work of the Aviva Foundation as it helps put unclaimed shareholder assets to good use.
Thank you once more for your continued interest in and support for Aviva.
George Culmer - Chair
Financial updates
2023 Q1 results
Amanda Blanc, Group Chief Executive Officer, said:
“We have delivered an encouraging start to 2023 and continue to build clear trading momentum. New business volumes are good, despite persistent economic uncertainty, and we delivered another quarter of strong growth across our diversified business.
“Private healthcare sales grew by 25%, as more individuals and companies are attracted to the benefits of private cover. The bulk purchase annuity market is very active due to the higher rate environment, and we have now completed over £2 billion of deals so far this year. Our workplace pensions business is also very buoyant, with flows up 25% due to 134 new scheme wins and higher wages feeding through to higher pension contributions.
“Our general insurance business goes from strength to strength. We have grown premiums 11% and maintained attractive levels of profitability, thanks to our disciplined management of inflationary pressures and our balanced mix across personal and commercial lines, and across the UK, Ireland and Canada.
“Aviva is uniquely placed to successfully navigate the prevailing economic environment, and we continue to support our customers through this challenging time. We have market leading positions in high growth areas. We are financially strong with an attractive and growing dividend, and we are confident in the prospects for Aviva.”
Find out more - Aviva plc Q1 2023 Trading Update - Aviva plc - Aviva plc
2022 final dividend
Our 2022 final dividend of 20.7 pence per share was paid on 18 May 2023.
Go to Dividends - Aviva plc for more details.
2023 Annual General Meeting & General Meeting
The 2023 AGM of the Company and General Meeting relating to a proposed reduction in capital were held at Norwich City Football Club, Carrow Road, Norwich, NR1 1JE (Carrow Road), on 4 May 2023 with facilities to attend electronically.
You can find recordings of the Chair and Group CEO's speeches as well as the Business of the Meeting (from both the AGM & GM) here - 2023 Annual General Meeting and General Meeting - Aviva plc
Shareholder warning
We have had an increasing number of reports from shareholders that they have received cold calls where they are asked to confirm personal details such as their address. Shareholders are advised that such calls have not been arranged by either Aviva or our Registrar, Computershare, and are likely to be part of a scam. Shareholders who receive such calls are advised to hang up.
Environment & community updates
Foundation update
In 2022, 14,519 people directly benefitted from programmes supported by the Aviva Foundation. Our support has enabled organisations to:
- pilot new approaches to increase the financial capabilities of young people;
- build financial wellbeing and resilience of people with learning disabilities; and
- develop ground-breaking research to bridge important gaps in our understanding of financial resilience.
Read the Aviva Foundation’s 2022 Impact Summary to find out more about what our partners achieved, what they learned and how they are using this insight to influence others.
Aviva plc commits further £150 million to Aviva Ventures and invests the first £1.5 million in Scan.com
Ben Luckett, Chief Innovation Officer at Aviva, said:
“Innovation is central to Aviva’s strategy and our ambition to deliver great outcomes for our customers. The £150m commitment to Aviva Ventures will be used to make early stage investments in promising young digital and tech firms that also provide us with insight on emerging technology and consumer trends.
“Our investment in Scan.com is a statement of our intent – they are growing rapidly, have a unique customer proposition and are already leading the way on medical imaging services in the UK. We are really excited to support Scan.com’s development and growth.”
Aviva invests £20m into low carbon housing manufacturer TopHat
Aviva Capital Partners (ACP) is Aviva’s new in-house capital unit which originates infrastructure assets using Aviva group capital. ACP is investing £20m into TopHat, a business manufacturing low carbon modular homes using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). This equity funding will support TopHat’s major new factory in Corby, and the creation of 1,000 new jobs. The factory, anticipated to operate from summer 2024, will be capable of manufacturing 4,000 ultra-low carbon homes a year and will be Europe’s largest modular housing factory.
John Cummins, CEO, Aviva Capital Partners, said:
“Aviva is using its financial strength to invest in the sustainable infrastructure and real estate which are central to the UK’s net zero transition. TopHat is a pioneer of low-carbon homes and this investment will make sustainable housing more widely available, making a difference to communities and providing a retirement income for our customers.”
Aviva completes £900m bulk annuity deal with Thomas Cook
In May 2023 Aviva completed a £900million bulk annuity buy-in transaction with the Trustees of the Thomas Cook Pension Plan.
Register and feedback
We’ll share more shareholder updates in September and December 2023. Register to get an email when these are available. Want to keep up to date with the latest Aviva news? Follow Aviva Plc on Twitter and LinkedIn for regular updates.
If you have any feedback or suggestions for our shareholder update, please email aviva.shareholders@aviva.com
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