Standard Life enjoyed a solid performance that saw IFRS operating profit rise from last year's £166m to £182m. That reflected increased fee and commission income - from £314m to £359m - thanks in part to a 5 per cent rise in assets under administration to £179bn, with net inflows rising from £3.1bn to £5.3bn. The picture was also transformed by the investment book's performance having recovered - the net return reached £2.86bn from just £5m last year.
Operating profits on a European embedded value (EEV) basis, which includes an element of projected premium income, rose 11 per cent year-on-year to £364m. The core element of operating profits rose 41 per cent to £336m, partly reflecting a sharply higher contribution of £161m from new business. The turnaround from last year was particularly pronounced in the UK, where an EEV pre-tax loss of £45m was turned into a profit of 357m, largely due to a much improved investment return.
On an IFRS basis, UBS expects a full-year pre-tax profit of £230m and EPS of 8p (2009:£204m/7.35p).
| STANDARD LIFE (SL.) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 209p | MARKET VALUE: | £4,723m | |
| TOUCH: | 208-209p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 237p | LOW: 170p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.9% | PE RATIO: | 11 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 161p | EMBEDDED VALUE: | 301p | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Gross premiums (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 1.67 | -66.0 | -2.4 | 4.15 |
| 2010 | 1.66 | 433 | 8.9 | 4.35 |
| % change | -1 | - | - | +5 |
Ex-div:18 Aug Payment:19 Nov | ||||
