LEGAL & GENERAL TO END QUARTERLY REPORTING
Legal & General has today announced that following the removal of the requirements for Interim Management Statements, it will cease quarterly reporting in 2016. The Board took the decision as they believe it is in the best long-term interests of the company, shareholders and customers.
The Board feels the decision will enhance its communications with investors and other stakeholders, as it will allow the company to better articulate Legal & General's business strategies and the long-term dynamics of its markets, through timely and frequent updates, rather than quarterly trading figures.
Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), one of the largest investors in UK plc, wrote to all the FTSE 350 Boards in June outlining their support for the regulatory changes that removed the mandatory requirement to disclose financial reporting on a quarterly basis.
LGIM stated in their correspondence, that it was up to individual company Boards to make the appropriate decision on quarterly reporting, based upon their own business environment. Legal & General has also discussed this change with its shareholders, who are supportive.
Legal & General will continue to provide, in conjunction with prelims and interims, qualitative updates covering market and company developments.
Nigel Wilson, Group Chief Executive said:
"Legal & General believes in long termism. The future success of the UK economy is dependent on companies and shareholders making the correct long-term business decisions. Legal & General believes making this change will help management and the Board make the right long-term decisions in the interests of all our stakeholders.
"Our business cycle is long-term, with many of our investment and business decisions playing out over years and sometimes decades, rather than quarters. As such, ending quarterly reporting will allow us to focus on communicating what is relevant to the value creation in Legal & General's businesses."
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For further information, please contact:
Investors:
Laura Doyle Head of Investor Relations 020 3124 2088
Stephen Thomas Investor Relations Manager 020 3124 2047
Media:
John Godfrey Corporate Affairs Director 020 3124 2090
Richard King Head of Group Corporate Communications 020 3124 2095
Notes to editors:
1. Legal & General will publish its 2015 full year results on the 15th March 2016.
Legal & General Group Plc
Established in 1836, Legal & General is a leading provider of insurance, savings and investment management products in the UK. The Group has a market capitalisation of £15.7bn (as at 10 December 2015) and is responsible for investing £728bn worldwide (as at 30th September 2015) on behalf of investors, policyholders and shareholders. We have over seven million customers in the UK for life assurance, pensions, investments and general insurance plans and over one million customers in the US who rely on us for life assurance. In 2014, Legal & General's operating profit (on the IFRS basis) was £1,275m and earnings per share were 16.70p for the period, an increase of 10% for both respectively.
For more information on Legal & General, please see http://www.legalandgeneralgroup.com/
Forward-looking statements
This announcement may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to Legal & General, its plans and its current goals and expectations relating to future financial condition, performance and results. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances which are beyond Legal & General's control, including, among others, UK domestic and global economic and business conditions, market related risks such as fluctuations in interest rates and exchange rates, the policies and actions of regulatory and Governmental authorities, the impact of competition, the timing impact of these events and other uncertainties of future acquisition or combinations within relevant industries. As a result, Legal & General's actual future condition, performance and results may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations set out in these forward-looking statements and persons reading this announcement should not place reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made only as at the date on which such statements are made and Legal & General Group Plc does not undertake to update forward-looking statements contained in this announcement or any other forward-looking statement it may make.
