Fidelity posts record result
Fidelity Life’s record profit result shows its acquisition of TOWER’s life insurance business has been a success, its chief executive says.
Monday, October 13th 2014, 6:00AM
by Susan Edmunds
Fidelity Life posted an after-tax profit of $35.1 million in the 2014 year, more than twice 2013’s $17.1 million.
During the year, Fidelity bought TOWER’s health and life business and sold its KiwiSaver scheme to Grosvenor.
Chief executive Milton Jennings said he was very pleased with the result. “There’s always a fear when you acquire a company that it won’t achieve expectations but we’re very pleased with the result and how it has gone.”
He said Fidelity Life had aimed for consistency, not large growth over the year. “We want managed growth to support the adviser force.”
Fidelity had been able to realise the results of the acquisition of TOWER’s business and get the growth it had wanted out of that, Jennings said. “We also had the sale of the KiwiSaver funds which helped boost the result.”
All staff had been integrated by May, Jennings said, and once everyone was in one building it had become easier to get back to business as usual. “And get service standards back to where they were before. “
Fidelity also started a joint venture with nib during the 2014 year, selling its products through the Fidelity network. “That caused a few delays in the new business department as we were bedding both down,” Jennings said. “We put it in pretty quickly after the TOWER acquisition and with the benefit of hindsight, should have taken a bit more time over it. But there’s nothing like getting in and getting going. There were teething problems because it’s two companies rather than one, two decisions rather than one and it took longer than we initially thought. It’s going well now.”
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