Personal Group Holdings has released its 2021 first half financial results, reflecting a favourable period for the company.
The employee benefits and services provider generated £34.2 million in revenue, a 12.2% rise from £30.4 million in the same period last year. The firm attributed the growth primarily to increased pass-through transactional spend via its Hapi platform, which generated £13.4 million, up from H1 2020’s £8.5 million.
The insurer’s balance sheet also remained strong with a cash position of more than £22 million and no debt.
But as the insurer anticipated, its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) dropped from £5 million to £4.1 million, a 17.7% decline year-on-year as pandemic restrictions hampered the firm’s ability to conduct face-to-face sales of its insurance products. The dip, however, has been partly offset by continued insurance acquisition cost spending and growth in adjusted EBITDA in the company’s other divisions.
As restrictions began to ease, the group said its new policyholder conversion rates have equalled or exceeded pre-COVID-19 levels in areas where face-to-face meetings have recommenced. Retention rates for existing policyholders have also remained strong.
In addition, the company’s claims ratio has remained stable in the first half of the year at 22.5%, compared to 23% in H1 2020.
“Towards the end of the period, we were able to recommence face-to-face insurance sales and have recorded great results so far, with our teams booked for the remainder of the year,” said Deborah Frost, chief executive of Personal Group Holdings. “This represents an important inflection point for our group as we begin to rebuild our insurance book.”
“Alongside the progress made against our strategic initiatives, demand for our offering has never been stronger, as we have seen more and more people appreciating the risks of living without health and life insurance and wanting peace of mind in these uncertain times,” she added. “Notwithstanding the ongoing impact of lower insurance sales last year, as in-person meetings were halted in line with pandemic restrictions, I am extremely encouraged by the progress we have made in the first half of 2021 and post-period end. I look to the future with confidence.”
