Challenger tightens guidance as Middle East conflict delivers FUM hit
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The news: Investment manager Challenger has tightened its FY26 earnings guidance after reporting a jump in third-quarter life sales.
The numbers: Challenger now expects normalised basic earnings per share to be between 66 and 70 cents in FY26.
The group reported Q3 total life sales of $1.7 billion, up 19% year on year. Lifetime annuity sales were up 18% year on year to $289 million. Offshore reinsurance annuity sales climbed 17% to $281 million, while fixed term annuity sales added 2% to $517 million.
Challenger saw annuity net book growth of $274 million, or 1.7%, for the quarter.
Funds under management slipped 10%, or $11.7 billion, during the quarter to $104.5 billion. The result was driven by net outflows of $8 billion, and $3.4 billion of negative investment market movements driven by the war in Iran.
The context: Challenger’s managing director and chief executive Nick Hamilton said the company’s hit to funds under management was due to a “period of global volatility”, with institutional allocators continuing to reduce exposure to active equity management.
He noted the quarter was boosted by new partnerships with BT and Bank of Queensland.
The source: ASX
