Standard Life Reports H1 Profits Gain; Asia Business Prospers

Tom Burroughes

10 August 2016

UK-listed yesterday said its pre-tax operating profit rose 18 per cent year-on-year to £341 million ($442.3 million) for the six months to the end of June, while fee-based revenue rose to £794 million, up from £761 million a year ago. Figures for Asia showed forward momentum, the firm said.

The business said total assets under administration reached £328 billion at 30 June, rising 7 per cent from the same period a year ago, benefiting from £900 million of inflows as well as positive market moves amounting to £19.7 billion.

Gross inflows stood at £21.8 billion, against £21.7 billion a year earlier, covering institutional, wholesale, pensions and retail areas of business.

Standard Life Investments, the firm’s investments arm, “grew total assets under management by 6 per cent year-on-year to £269 billion at the end of June. Within this figure, third-party AuM rose 6 per cent to £137.7 billion.

In the India and China businesses, operating profit before tax was £19 million for the six months to 30 June, down from £21 million, reflecting higher profit from associate and joint venture life businesses, but offset by lower profitability in Standard Life’s Hong Kong business which is continuing to adapt to regulatory change, it said.

In China, Heng An Standard Life logged growth in new business sales in the first half of this year, up 31 per cent.