British insurer Standard Life said its 2009 operating profit slipped 1.5 per cent, well above expectations of a steeper drop, thanks to a better than expected performance at home and in its growing Asian business.
In its first full-year results under chief executive David Nish, the former finance director who took the helm at the start of the year, the insurer also set a further savings target of £100 million by 2012.
Standard Life said a year ago it aimed to cut costs by £75 million by the end of 2010, and the insurer said it had already achieved £47 million of that, as it restructures customer service operations.
On a European embedded value (EEV) basis, operating profit for the group by market value came in at £919 million, compared to a year-ago profit of £933 million pounds and a consensus forecast of £668 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
On a statutory basis, underlying profit before tax came in at £291 million for the year, virtually double £154 million a year earlier and again well above market forecasts.
Sales at Standard Life Ireland rose by 5 per cent in 2009 compared to a year earlier, with strong sales in the single premium pension business. The company said the sales increase was driven by initiatives including the Global Absolute Return Strategies Fund (GARS), in which Irish investors have put more €200 million.
Overall, Standard Life last month posted a better-than-expected 7 per cent drop in 2009 sales, as a market recovery during the second half helped soften the impact of crisis-hit UK consumers cutting back on savings.
Reuters