Phoenix Share Discussion Threads

[deadly] 03/12/2020 14:50

That good trading update went down like a lead balloon.

[williamcooper104] 03/12/2020 14:23

The sensitivity table on solvency capital is interesting Shows that there's a little downside from falling rates but a lot of upside if interest rates rise So it's a great hedge if you have lots of long duration/interest rate sensitive assets Although 6 months extra longtivity assumption takes nearly 20 percent of capital - (this ought to be worse in a low rate environment and better in a high rate environment) - and that's the big risk we have here

[skinny] 03/12/2020 14:15

Hear hear!

[edmundshaw] 03/12/2020 14:10

Top post @jonwig. Agree with you. Companies have to look after their stakeholders and their bottom line, which are not well served by taking up minority positions on hot political topics...

[jonwig] 03/12/2020 13:46

MRF - this is an utterly pointless discussion - the PHNX thread should not be an excuse for throwing off unrelated assertions which nobody actually listens to.

My earlier post was intended to explain why corporate governance rules compel companies to include these factors, and there is also legal threat from potential lawsuits. The pension schemes administered by PHNX are particularly vulnerable to this.

It seems some people didn't read my post, or chose to ignore it. Can we end it now?

[my retirement fund] 03/12/2020 13:05

I guess Snorky won't be taking the vaccine due to the RFI chips and smart water that will be infected into ones body. I can't blame him for that after all the only reason Trump lost is because he didn't believe in vaccines which is why the CIA rigged the election and got rid of him. Everyone in the US knows covid is a hoax for the secret services to control us. Just like global warming. Etc yadda yadda yadda

[stemis] 03/12/2020 12:57

Global warming has very little to do with man's influence and sadly you are symptom of today's world , and yes I support Trump

There's a surprise...

[williamcooper104] 03/12/2020 11:22

Net carbon from operations by 2025 - basically means very little corporate travel - not exactly a hardship for shareholders

[williamcooper104] 03/12/2020 11:18

Even if cc change is nothing to do with mans actions (possible but very unlikely) there's still a massive upside to clean energy as it eventually leads to extremely cheap energy and alters the geopolitical landscape away from dependence upon despotic regime's Note that Exon Mobile don't bother arguing the toss on this anymore

[spcecks] 03/12/2020 10:33

Great update happy to hold and add on any dips.

[geko5trade] 03/12/2020 09:41

I agree with jonwig this is a corporate governance issue and the company is being responsible with shareholders' money by including the statement. Investors personal opinions aren't relevant nor the personal opinions of the board.
Very positive update and those looking for a dead cat might need to go to Specsavers!

[bluemango] 03/12/2020 09:20

The sad thing is, given such a good update it was for the financials, you wonder how much better the initial market reaction would have been without this self-imposed constraint on their investment strategy - and I understand completely jonwig's explanation of why they felt compelled to do this.

[fenners66] 03/12/2020 09:14

"My Retirement Fund
3 Dec '20 - 09:05 - 4213 of 4214

Why are folk discussing climate change here?"

Err because the company decided to make an issue of it and prominently place it in their "trading" update.

Blame PHNX they started it !

[snorky123] 03/12/2020 09:07

Give me a break , I dont agree with you and will continue to say it as I see it, I dont take orders from you!Global warming has very little to do with man's influence and sadly you are symptom of today's world , and yes I support Trump

[this_is_me] 03/12/2020 09:03

This would be true blue if the company wasn't in danger of spending management time and our money on unscientific hogwash.

(Yes I am a scientist)

[bluemango] 03/12/2020 08:48

This probably isn't the appropriate forum for all the climate change arguments - I'm sure there are other advfn threads where one can let off steam about this.

[this_is_me] 03/12/2020 08:46

It is necessary to remind people that, while climate change is always happening, current global warming has very little to do with human activity. Another example, this time from Iceland:

Ancient tree stumps found under Breiðamerkurjökull glacier in Southeast Iceland are confirmed to be roughly 3,000 years old. RÚV reports.


Snorky is also correct about masks.

The latest research from Denmark failed to show that even surgical masks prevented the spread of the virus. There have been many studies regarding wearing masks done over the last 100 years since the 'flu' pandemic of 1918/1919 and none have shown that masks prevent the spread of a virus.

[bluemango] 03/12/2020 08:45

Very good to see the phrase 'cash generation .. exceeding top end of expectations'.

Bodes well for the dividend going forwards.

On the net zero stuff, I think sadly there's an inevitability about such policy at present (despite China and other countries merrily doing their own thing with much greater theoretical influence) and we just have to accept it until the consensus shifts or scientific evidence moves more towards 'climate sceptics' viewpoint acknowledging the limits of man's influence either way. Jonwig is right, the pressure to conform with this at present is enormous and for now (in a shareholder context, anyway) one just has to accept it whatever one's private views. At least the target date is way off - 2050 for investments.

[williamcooper104] 03/12/2020 08:21

Having invested in Orsted and NEE - I'm far from sick with climate change :)

[this_is_me] 03/12/2020 08:02

Yes snorky, climate change has very little to do with human actions otherwise, for example, we wouldn't see the Melting Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska revealing the remains of a forest carbon dated to over 1,000 years ago when obviously the world was a lot warmer than at present.

[robsy2] 03/12/2020 07:49

Excellent.

[skinny] 03/12/2020 07:45

Yes pretty good - "strong" and "exceeding" are mentioned several times!





Capital Markets Day, strong trading update exceeding 2020 cash generation target, and setting net-zero carbon targets

Phoenix Group ("Phoenix"), the UK's largest long-term savings and retirement business, is today hosting a Capital Markets Day for investors and analysts, which will include presentations by Phoenix's management team.

The purpose of the event is to provide greater insight into Phoenix's strategy and financial framework. The presentations will also include a series of deep dives into how its businesses are being managed to deliver sustainable cash, resilience and growth for investors.

Alongside this, Phoenix today announces a strong trading update with 2020 cash generation ahead of target.

Commenting on the results, Group CEO, Andy Briggs said:

"Phoenix has continued to perform strongly with full year cash generation of GBP1.7 billion now complete, exceeding the top end of our target range. Our balance sheet remains resilient, underpinned by our high-quality portfolio of assets and unique approach to risk management, and our shareholder capital coverage ratio of 159% remains robust.

As we execute successfully against our strategy, I am confident that we will continue to deliver cash, resilience and growth, and therefore sustainable cash generation for investors.

We also recognise that Phoenix has an important role to play in society and today we are announcing our commitment for our operations to become net-zero carbon by 2025 and for our investment portfolio to do so by 2050. Sustainability is at the core of our purpose and reducing our environmental impact will be integral to delivering long-term value for all of our stakeholders."

Financial Highlights - Phoenix continues to deliver cash, resilience and growth

Strong cash generation

-- GBP1,713 million of cash generation(1) in 2020 (2019: GBP707 million) exceeding the upper end of the 2020 cash generation target range of GBP1.5 billion - GBP1.6 billion.

Resilient Solvency II balance sheet with increased surplus

-- Solvency II surplus increased by GBP0.6 billion to GBP5.0 billion(2) as at 30 September 2020 from GBP4.4 billion(3) at 30 June 2020 on a pro-forma basis, driven in part by the successful delivery of management actions.

-- Shareholder Capital Coverage Ratio(4) of 159% as at 30 September 2020 (150% as at 30 June 2020 on a pro-forma basis), at the midpoint of the Group's target range of 140% - 180%.

Robust, high-quality credit portfolio

-- 98% of GBP35 billion shareholder debt portfolio is investment grade; 21% is rated as BBB with only 2% of the portfolio rated as BBB- as at 30 September 2020.

-- Limited downgrade experience to date with only GBP1.6 billion (4.5%) of bonds in the GBP35 billion shareholder debt portfolio subject to a downgrade which changed the letter rating, and GBP148 million of bonds (0.4%) being downgraded to sub-investment grade.

-- 99.3% of all contractual cashflows paid on the GBP9.3 billion illiquid asset portfolio.
Growth through Open business

-- GBP472 million incremental long-term cash generation from new business in the 9 months ended 30 September 2020 (FY 2019: GBP483 million(5) ) including:

- GBP300 million from BPA (FY 2019: GBP235 million);

- GBP94 million from Workplace (FY 2019: GBP155 million); and

- GBP42 million from Customer Savings and Investments (includes Wrap and Retail business) (FY 2019: GBP59 million).

Further financial disclosures are provided in the appendix to this announcement and all financial results are available in the financial supplement which can be accessed through the following link:

www.thephoenixgroup.com/investor-relations/capital-markets-day-2020

Phoenix has committed to becoming net-zero carbon by 2050

Phoenix recognises its responsibility in driving forward its commitment to sustainability, and in particular the importance of reducing greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions and accelerating the transition to a low carbon economy. As such, today we are setting net-zero carbon targets in two phases:

-- Phase 1: Operations: we are committing to ensuring the Scope 1 and 2 emissions of our occupied premises and the Scope 3 emissions from business travel are net-zero carbon by 2025.

-- Phase 2: Investment portfolio: setting a net-zero by 2050 target for our investment portfolio.

We will take into account the best available scientific knowledge in this process. Therefore, in relation to our operations, we will set and pursue a 1.5degC aligned science-based emissions reduction target, with any remaining hard-to-decarbonise emissions compensated using certified GHG removal projects.

In relation to our investment portfolios, where we have the ability to influence the investment strategy or investment solution, we will aim to reduce the emission intensity to net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. This is also consistent with the objective of limiting the temperature rise to no more than 1.5degC above pre-industrial temperatures and is in line with the Paris Agreement and the commitment of the UK Government.

We will do this by:

-- Increasing our investment in assets that support the transition to a low carbon economy; and
-- Using our position as a significant asset owner to engage with investee companies and promote alignment to the Paris Agreement. We will reduce or ultimately eliminate our exposure from companies that show little progress following sustained engagement.

Presentation

We will be hosting our live virtual Capital Markets Day for analysts and investors today at 2.00 pm (GMT).

A link to the live webcast of the presentation, with the facility to raise questions, and a copy of the

presentation will be available at www.thephoenixgroup.com
You can register for the live webcast at the link below:



A video replay of the presentation will be available through the Phoenix Group website post-event.