Old Mutual’s Life annual premium equivalent sales increased by 21% in the first half of 2026, driven by large corporate risk sales and higher sales of living annuities and endowments.
Life APE sales, a standardised measure of the volume of new life insurance business written, rose to R7.86 billion, according to the group’s interim results for the six months to 30 June, released on 8 September. Excluding the large Old Mutual Corporate risk sales, Life APE sales increased by 12%.
The headline increase reflected different trends across Old Mutual’s businesses. Large corporate risk contracts boosted group sales, while Wealth Management recorded higher living annuity and endowment sales. Guaranteed annuity sales declined, and Old Mutual deliberately curtailed some lower-quality sales in Mass and Foundation.
Life APE sales in Old Mutual Corporate increased by 92%, and Wealth Management recorded growth of 37%. By comparison, sales in Personal Finance and Mass and Foundation each increased by 5%. Old Mutual Africa Regions reported a 35% increase.
Large corporate contracts lift sales
Old Mutual Corporate’s Life APE sales increased from R702 million in the first half of 2025 to R1.35bn in the first half of 2026. The business provides employee-benefit solutions, including group risk cover, retirement-fund investments, administration, and consulting services.
The increase was driven mainly by higher group risk sales resulting from what Old Mutual described as “organic industry consolidation”. Recurring-premium risk sales increased from R297m to R849m, while annuity sales rose from R35m to R116m.
The present value of new-business premiums increased by 79% to R10.18bn. The measure combines single premiums with the present value of recurring premiums expected from new business written during the period.
The value of new business (VNB) in Old Mutual Corporate increased from R75m to R184m. This measure estimates the future profit expected from life insurance business sold during the reporting period. Its VNB margin increased from 1.3% to 1.8%, supported by the higher proportion of risk business.
Old Mutual said the significant recurring risk flows recorded during the first half were not expected to recur at the same level in the second half. Results from operations in Old Mutual Corporate declined by 8% to R1.05bn, partly because positive economic variances in the prior period did not recur.
Living annuities and endowments lift wealth sales
Wealth Management provides local and global investment solutions for affluent and high-net-worth clients, distributed mainly through financial intermediaries and accessed through its investment platforms.
Its reported Life APE sales increased by 37%, from R848m to R1.16bn. On a broader APE-comparable basis that includes covered and non-covered retail products, total retail sales increased by 21%.
VNB increased by 85% to R111m, and the VNB margin rose from 0.8% to 1.1%. Gross flows increased by 20% to R39.71bn, supported by inflows into the local platform business, particularly unit trusts and living annuities.
The results include 10X Investments from 1 April 2026, following Old Mutual’s acquisition of a controlling interest in the business.
Despite the higher gross flows, Wealth Management’s net client cash flow declined from R8.30bn to R3.18bn. Net client cash flow measures customer inflows after withdrawals and other customer outflows have been deducted.
Old Mutual attributed the decline mainly to significant outflows from its lower-margin Treasury business and lower inflows into Cash and Liquidity Solutions. These effects were partly offset by stronger net inflows into its local and offshore platforms and the inclusion of 10X.
Excluding Treasury and Cash and Liquidity Solutions, net client cash flow in the core investment business increased by 82%, according to Old Mutual.
Wealth Management’s results from operations increased by 49% to R825m, mainly because of higher revenue from a larger average base of assets under management and administration. The result also benefited from a revised allocation of retail margins between Wealth Management and Old Mutual Investments and a once-off change to an internal administration-fee agreement.
Guaranteed annuity sales fall 39%
Personal Finance provides advised risk, savings, income, and investment products to middle- and higher-income retail customers through tied advisers, independent financial advisers, agency franchises, and direct channels.
Its Life APE sales increased by 5% to R1.54bn, supported by higher recurring-premium savings sales and a small increase in risk sales. This was partly offset by lower single-premium business.
Guaranteed annuity sales fell by 39%, from R279m to R169m. Old Mutual described the decline as a cyclical industry trend reflecting changing customer preferences in a lower-interest-rate environment. Living annuity sales increased from R112m to R117m.
Gross flows declined by 4% to R14.64bn, while the net client cash outflow widened from R3.33bn to R5.21bn. Old Mutual attributed these movements to lower guaranteed annuity inflows, higher section 14 retirement annuity transfers, and increased disinvestments following strong market performance in 2025.
VNB was negative R7m, compared with negative R5m in the prior period, while the VNB margin remained negative at 0.1%. Old Mutual said lower annuity sales were partly offset by higher risk and savings sales and improved distribution economics.
Results from operations declined by 11% to R1.14bn, largely because of yield-curve movements, partly offset by improved mortality and persistency experience. Old Mutual said guaranteed annuity sales were not expected to recover to recent historical levels in the near term.
Old Mutual curtails lower-quality sales
Mass and Foundation serves lower-income and lower-middle-income customers with life and funeral insurance, savings products, and funeral services through advised and non-advised distribution channels.
Its Life APE sales increased by 5% to R2.53bn. The increase was partly attributable to the addition of a large group scheme in the foundation market and higher funeral-product sales from the Two Mountains Group. Old Mutual said growth across its other channels was more muted.
The group said it had started deliberately scaling down “pockets of lower quality sales” in certain distribution channels to improve persistency and the value generated by new business. Persistency refers to the extent to which policyholders continue paying premiums and keep their policies in force.
Gross flows increased by 3% to R7.18bn, while net client cash flow rose by 6% to R3.07bn. Old Mutual attributed the improvement in net flows mainly to growth in the retail risk portfolio and fewer policy surrenders.
VNB declined by 45% to R161m, while the margin fell from 4.5% to 2.5%. These were not like-for-like comparisons because the prior-period value metrics included Old Mutual Finance’s credit-life business. This was transferred to the Banking cluster from 2026 and was, according to Old Mutual, the main reason for the reported decline.
Results from operations increased by 19% to R671m. The prior-period result included the effect of strengthening the long-term persistency assumptions used for the funeral portfolio. The current result benefited from improved mortality and persistency outcomes, although these were partly offset by materially lower economic variances.
New-business margin remains below target
Across the group, VNB increased by 32%, from R432m to R569m, while the VNB margin improved from 1.3% to 1.4%.
The margin expresses expected future profit as a percentage of the present value of new-business premiums. Despite the improvement, it remained below Old Mutual’s medium-term target range of 2% to 3%.
Old Mutual attributed the improvement to volumes and business mix in Wealth Management, Old Mutual Corporate, and Old Mutual Africa Regions, partly offset by lower opening yield curves. The South African margin declined from 1.4% to 1.3%, while the margin in Old Mutual Africa Regions increased from 0.3% to 2%.
Net outflows narrow
Gross flows across Old Mutual’s life, savings, and asset-management businesses increased by 21% to R128.91bn. Gross flows measure customer money received during the period before withdrawals and other outflows.
Net client cash flow remained negative, although the outflow narrowed from R10.13bn to R3.13bn. Funds under management increased by 6% from the end of 2025 to R1.73 trillion.
Old Mutual Investments recorded a 48% increase in gross flows to R17.83bn, predominantly in Asset Management, while its net client cash outflow narrowed from R13.39bn to R3.78bn.
Flood claims reduce Old Mutual Insure’s underwriting profit
Old Mutual Insure writes personal, commercial, corporate, specialist, trade-credit, and alternative-risk-transfer business, mainly in South Africa.
Its gross written premiums increased by 5% to R12.1bn. The net underwriting result declined by 18% to R776m, while the net underwriting margin fell from 9.7% to 7.6%.
The net underwriting margin is the underwriting result expressed as a percentage of net insurance revenue and excludes investment returns. The margin remained within Old Mutual Insure’s target range of 5% to 8%.
The claims ratio increased from 47.2% to 50.3%. Severe flooding in the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape in May resulted in catastrophe losses of R376m after reinsurance. Increased claims in the trade-credit portfolio also affected the result.
Results from operations declined by 25% to R992m, reflecting the lower underwriting result and weaker investment returns on insurance funds.
Investment returns pull adjusted earnings lower
At group level, results from operations increased by 7% to R5.28bn. This measure reflects the performance of Old Mutual’s operating businesses before centrally managed items such as shareholder investment returns and finance costs.
Life and Savings remained Old Mutual’s largest operating contributor, producing R3.69bn of the group result. Old Mutual Insure contributed R992m, Old Mutual Africa Regions R947m, and Old Mutual Investments R695m. These contributions were partly offset by losses in the Banking cluster and group activities.
On a per-share basis, results from operations increased by 11% to 126.3 cents, compared with the 7% increase in the underlying measure. The adjusted weighted average number of shares used in the calculation declined from 4.35 billion to 4.18 billion during a period in which Old Mutual completed its R3bn share-buyback programme.
Adjusted headline earnings fell by 30% to R2.95bn, and adjusted headline earnings per share declined by 27% to 70.6 cents. Old Mutual attributed the decrease mainly to negative shareholder investment returns, compared with positive returns in the first half of 2025.
Headline earnings declined by 6% to R3.93bn, while IFRS profit after tax attributable to shareholders fell by 5% to R3.89bn. Old Mutual declared an interim dividend of 40 cents a share, an increase of 8%, and approved a further share buyback of up to R1bn.
Old Mutual expects sales growth to moderate in the second half, partly because the significant corporate risk flows recorded in the first six months are not expected to recur at the same level. It said the focus on new-business quality would constrain near-term growth in Mass and Foundation, while guaranteed annuity sales were unlikely to return to recent historical levels in the near term.
