Last Updated on: 22nd November 2023, 08:17 am
Discovery Group has announced annual financial results for the year ending 30 June 2018. The Group, which operates in 19 countries, including the UK through the VitalityHealth, VitalityLife and VitalityInvest businesses, provides a unique set of insurance and financial services products to consumers around the world, which seek to improve individuals’ health and financial behaviours to deliver shared benefits for consumers, Discovery and broader society.
Discovery Group saw positive performance across all key business metrics, including normalised operating profit – up 17% from prior year to £477m; new business – up 10% to £931m; and embedded value – up 15% to £3.79bn.
As well as strong financial performance, the period was characterised by rapid expansion and diversification of product-lines, with the Group launching a number of new initiatives including VitalityInvest in the UK. The Group also entered the Japanese life insurance market through a new partnership with Sumitomo Life.
The performance of Vitality UK was a key contributor to the Group’s global performance, with excellent results from a growth and profitability perspective. New business across VitalityHealth and VitalityLife increased by 12% to £132m, with insured lives growing to 1.1m (up 11%), while operating profit grew by 44% to £64m.
Adrian Gore, Chief Executive of Discovery Group, commented: “Our business model is more relevant than ever and allows us to proactively react to industry and market trends. Financial services businesses have to fulfil a societal function, technology will continue to play an increasingly significant role, and there is a greater realisation that insurance risk is strongly associated with behaviour, be it your health or financial security. We have seen remarkable results in behaviour change to deliver outcomes including lower healthcare costs, and we remain on track to make an even greater impact on the wellbeing of more people through our strong portfolio of businesses and our global technology platforms. The impressive growth and performance of the VitalityHealth and VitalityLife businesses have underlined the particular resonance of the model in the UK market.”
Neville Koopowitz, Chief Executive of Vitality UK, commented: “Not only has the global performance of the Discovery Group been excellent, but Vitality UK is, increasingly, a leading contributor to this success. This financial year has marked a number of key milestones, including the business reaching a million lives and the launch of a new business in VitalityInvest. Over the next financial year we will be continuing to innovate to provide new exciting products which make a positive impact on our members’ lives, underpinned by robust financial performance – thus achieving our goal of delivering Shared Value to clients, ourselves and society.”
