The firm, founded in 1861, unveiled a 19% increase in operating pre-tax profit to £249 million in 2023, attributed to growth in new business contribution, active management, and higher risk-free rates.

While workplace pensions new business sales grew 4% after adjusting for the discount rate increase, individual pensions sales fell, leading to a decline in total life and pensions new business sales to £9.3 billion from £10.8bn due to higher interest rates impacting the present value of new business premiums.

Bucking industry trends, Royal London’s net inflows rose to £4.2bn from £3.7bn in 2022, and total assets under management increased to £162bn at year-end from £147bn, owing to net inflows and positive market movements in the second half of the year.

The company will distribute £163m among more than two million eligible life and pensions policy customers through its Profitshare scheme, up from £155m the previous year.

Royal London’s group chief executive, Barry O’Dwyer, said: “Royal London is a customer-owned mutual, so we don’t have shareholders. This means that the 19% growth in our operating profit before tax is good news for our customers.

“The profits we make are reinvested in the business to improve our offerings and service for customers, returned to eligible customers via ProfitShare, and used to support our charitable and social impact activities.

“In 2023, we welcomed 930 new workplace pension schemes, allowing us to support a further 240,000 new pension savers.

“The breadth and depth of our investment range attracted over £4bn in net inflows, as we grew our membership base, and delivered strong active investment performance while expanding our fund range and international reach.”