Standard Life profit down 35%
Standard Life saw profit slump 35% in the first half of 2009, as pension sales weakened and asset values fell.
Pre-tax operating profit came in at £348 million for the period, down from £534 million a year earlier.
Net inflows from the group’s worldwide life and pensions operations stood at £662 million, compared with £1,842 million in the same period of 2008 as UK life and pensions sales slid 24%, to £1.53 billion.
The insurer attributed the falls to a reduction in the value of pension pots invested by new customers and its decision not to renew UK bulk investment bond deals written in 2008, at relatively lower margins.
However, combined sales across Standard Life’s Indian and Chinese joint ventures and its Hong Kong operation were 6% higher at £296 million and the group saw a 13% increase in the number of UK customers taking out Self Invested Personal Pension plans, to 74,700.
In addition, the group’s capital buffer has been largely preserved, standing at £3.1 billion at the end of June, compared with £3.3 billion at the end of December.
Chief executive, Sandy Crombie, said: “The recession has had an inevitable impact on our performance in the first half of 2009.”
Category: Financials, Insurance News, Standard Life News
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