Standard Life (SL.) managed a positive surprise in emerging markets ahead of its merger with emerging market (EM) specialist Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN). The life assurer-cum-asset manager’s India and China joint ventures helped deliver £33m, some £11m ahead of expectations, and helped operating profit rise to £362m. Net inflows for these operations were up two-thirds to £274m. But in the major operations, performance was lacklustre.
Assets under management at Standard Life Investments were down marginally since the year-end to £275bn, after suffering £4.6bn in net outflows. Its flagship multi-asset strategy GARS recorded £5.6bn in net outflows, with a period of weaker performance the previous year dampening demand. However, tighter cost control meant operating profit was up 8 per cent to £190m.
The acquisition of Axa's Elevate adviser platform in October – which now has £12.1bn of assets under administration – help lift UK retail assets by 10 per cent to £70bn. Workplace products gained £0.8bn in net inflows, as pensions contributions into existing schemes increased and new members auto-enrolled. However, this was offset by increased operating expenses and changes in the spread/risk margin – which relates to the income earned on annuities – resulting in operating profit falling slightly to £167m.
Analysts at Numis expect adjusted pre-tax profit of £1.08bn during the 12 months to December 2017, giving EPS of 29.8p (from £1.09bn and 29.9p in 2016).
| STANDARD LIFE (SL.) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 440.7p | MARKET VALUE: | £8.72bn | |
| TOUCH: | 440.4-440.7p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 448p | LOW: 314p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.6% | PE RATIO: | 20 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 221p | ASSETS UNDER ADMINISTRATION: | £362bn | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2016 | 7.70 | 437 | 11.5 | 6.47 |
| 2017 | 7.40 | 374 | 14.8 | 7 |
| % change | -4 | -14 | +29 | +8 |
| Ex-div: | 7 Sep | |||
| Payment: | 18 Oct |
