Partnership says 129 job losses 'regrettable but necessary'
An annuity provider shed 129 jobs in the wake of the Budget last year, it announced today.
Partnership said it had to make the 'regrettable' move due to major reduction in business volumes.
The company, an IFP corporate member, also announced an agreement today to issue a £100 million bond.
The overall 2014 financial results published this morning showed total operating profit in 2014 was £64m – compared to £131m in 2013 - a decrease of 51%.
New business operating profits were £39m, down from the year before (£86m).
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Regarding job losses, the company statement said: "Following the Budget, we took immediate action to manage our cost base in light of significantly reduced new business volumes, which resulted in our headcount being reduced by 129 roles to 427 at the end of year.
"Whilst this is regrettable, we believed it was necessary to manage our cost base to reflect the impact of the Budget on sales of individual annuities.
"It is challenging periods like this which bind an organisation more closely together and enable it to weather the storm, and then thrive."
Steve Groves, chief executive, said: "Partnership has now weathered most of the difficult period of market dislocation prior to the implementation of the Pensions Reforms next month.
"We have generated highly profitable new business through careful risk selection and a conscious decision to prioritise margin over sales volumes while continuing to deliver better outcomes for our customers in this disrupted market.
"Although our core individually underwritten annuity market has been impacted significantly, consumer and adviser research continues to show the importance of an income guaranteed for life. I strongly welcome the FCA's retirement income market reform proposals, which should enhance our market opportunity by providing further encouragement for all retirees to shop around."
He said there were strong positives to emerge from today's results: "I am pleased to report that investment in our DB proposition is delivering results with £247 million of bulk annuity sales for 2014, a near threefold increase on the prior year and a strong high quality pipeline going into 2015."
Regarding the bond issue, he said: "In January 2015, we held a series of meetings with fixed income investors to explore the potential for a public bond issue. Given Partnership's debt-free balance sheet, it was logical to explore the opportunities to diversify the group's sources of funding, but we elected not to proceed with a transaction at that time.
"Today we are announcing a £100 million bond issue to Cinven, our majority shareholder. This provides us with further financial flexibility as we pursue our strategy to grow the business in the UK retail, Defined Benefit and US Care markets."