Insurance and pensions administrator Chesnara plans to ramp up its acquisition strategy and raise its dividend for the 19th year in a row on the back of strong annual earnings.
The firm, which specialises in takeovers in the pensions and insurance sector, has proposed a final dividend for 2023 of 15.61p, taking its total for the year to 23.97p. It said this figure equated to £36.1m in payouts, up three per cent from £35.0m in 2022.
Chesnara made two acquisitions last year, which it said added further scale to the group’s Dutch and UK businesses. It acquired the Conservatrix insurance portfolio in the Netherlands and an individual protection portfolio from Canada Life UK.
Chesnara said cash balances at the group’s holding companies increased to £124.1m last year, from £108.1m in 2022, which provided “substantial resources to fund future acquisitions”.
It posted commercial cash generation of £53.0m in 2023, up from £46.6m in 2022. The firm’s solvency came in at 205 per cent, up from 197 per cent in 2022 and “materially above” its normal operating range of 140 per cent to 160 per cent.
Chesnara also swung to an IFRS pretax profit of £1.8m last year, from a £62.1m loss in 2022.
Chief executive Steve Murray said: “The two acquisitions we delivered in 2023 show we have continued momentum behind our acquisition strategy. We have seen significant delivery across the Group in the period including IFRS 17 and our new strategic partnership with SS&C for policy administration, which supports Chesnara’s future growth ambitions in the UK.
“The wider business has continued to deliver for our customers and has also performed robustly despite continuing market volatility delivering economic value growth. Our solvency position remains strong and significantly above our normal operating range.
“On M&A, we begin 2024 with a positive pipeline and are optimistic about our ability to participate in future deals. And we remain confident in our ability to finance and execute transactions on attractive terms for both vendors and our shareholders and deliver positive outcomes for customers.”