Danish pension company AP Pension returned DKK 7.98bn on its investments in the first half of 2024, down slightly from the DKK 8.46bn return in H1 2023, its half-year results have shown.

For customers in AP Active, the return in H1 was 6.8 per cent for someone 10 years to retirement, 8 per cent for those 20 years to retirement, and 8.9 per cent for someone 30 years to retirement.

“Despite a correction in the middle of the first half of the year, many customers ended up with a return on par with or higher than what you normally get in a whole year,” commented AP Pension managing director, Bo Normann Rasmussen.

“Seen in isolation for the first six months of 2024, AP Pension is in the middle field among the commercial companies, but if you look over five, seven or 10 years, we are among the best.”

Meanwhile, customers in AP Sustainable received returns of 3.5 per cent, 4.2 per cent, and 4.6 per cent at 10, 20, and 30 years to retirement respectively.

“In AP Sustainable, where the investments support the UN's 17 global goals, the return was weighed down by the fact that the green investments were having a hard time,” Rasmussen explained.

“This was partly due to rising interest rates and partly to uncertainty about the political support for e.g. installation of new wind turbines.

“However, this does not change the fact that we at AP Pension still believe that the green transition will happen and that we are on the way to a more sustainable world.

“That is why we also stick to our recommendation to customers to place a third of the pension payments in AP Sustainable.”

AP Pension came out of the first half of 2024 with a profit of DKK 66m after tax compared to DKK 300m in 2023, which was a record year for the pension company.

Its positive result in H1 2024 was attributed to the positive development in financial markets, growth in payments and a profit on health and accident insurance of DKK 50m.

“We are something from the record year last year, but we are coming out of the first half of the year well in several respects,” stated Rasmussen.

“Customers' deposits grew and the general development in the financial markets caused their savings to grow.

“This has a direct impact on our earnings, and it is also positive to see that our work with price increases, health measures and preventive efforts is beginning to work and is helping to increase the SUL result.”

---