Legal And General Posts Mixed Full-Year Figures as £1.2bn Buyback Gets Under Way
legal and general has released full-year results showing core operating profit around the £1. 6 billion mark and a £1. 2 billion share buyback set to begin this week, on March 11, ET. The disclosures show a 6% rise in core operating profit to £1. 6 billion alongside division-level numbers for retail at £447 million and asset management at £402 million, while a separate company figure lists core operating profit at £1. 62 billion—just below an analysts’ average estimate of £1. 65 billion. Management pointed to strategic refocusing and cost measures as the drivers behind the figures and the capital return plan.
Legal And General: Key numbers and shareholder return plan
The most urgent items for investors are clear: legal and general reported a core operating profit uplift and announced the largest share buyback in its history. core operating profit rose 6% to £1. 6 billion and that a £1. 2 billion buyback gets under way this week. The retail arm increased operating profit by 4% to £447 million and asset management delivered an unchanged result at £402 million. In addition, legal and general set planned shareholder returns of £2. 4 billion over the next year and said it intends to return more than £5 billion to shareholders over 2025–2027; the dividend for 2025 has risen 2% to 21. 79p a share.
Immediate reactions from leadership and management
António Simões, chief executive, legal and general, framed the results as evidence of a leaner organisation positioned for long-term demand. António Simões said: “As a sharper, more focused business, we are well-positioned to capitalise on the structural, growing demand for long-term investments and retirement income. ” On the profit outcome, the company also disclosed a core operating profit figure of £1. 62 billion for the year ended December 2025, noted as slightly below an analysts’ average estimate of £1. 65 billion—a point linked in company statements to an ongoing cost overhaul and strategic restructuring.
Market picture and immediate implications
For the market the combination of a near‑term buyback and a marginal miss on consensus creates immediate trade-offs: legal and general is deploying cash back to shareholders while signalling that restructuring remains a priority. The company set planned returns to shareholders at £2. 4 billion over the next year and flagged a commitment to return more than £5 billion across 2025–2027. Those declared returns and the 2% rise in the dividend underline management’s intent to prioritise shareholder value even as operating profit figures sit close to, but in one presentation fall slightly short of, analyst expectations.
Heathrow also registered passenger movements and capacity commentary in the same market update window, but the central corporate development for investors remains legal and general’s combination of profit disclosures, cost measures and the unprecedented buyback initiative.
What’s next: investors will watch execution closely as the £1. 2 billion buyback commences and as legal and general continues to implement cost changes and strategic disposals. Expect the company to set further operational detail and timing on returns as the buyback proceeds this week and management progresses its restructuring agenda; monitoring of operating performance and dividend guidance will shape investor reaction in the coming weeks.
