- Interest income improves substantially
- Valuation looks attractive for income
Phoenix Group (PHNX) endured a difficult autumn as traders took aim at any company with even a tangential connection to servicing or originating swaps for the liability-driven investment (LDI) industry. With that bad memory now fading, these results were a chance to move on and showcase the dividend attraction that forms a major part of the company’s investment case. Phoenix delivered a modest rise in the payout against a background of complex market movements, making the income statement difficult to interpret – a life insurer’s primary concern is to hedge its solvency II base, rather than protect the reported income statement from wild asset swings. Therefore, the figures require a certain amount of interpretation.