Standard Life profits up 51%

A deal to reinsure annuity liabilities has pushed Standard Life profits up 51 per cent.

Profits at Standard Life in the first half of the year stood at £534 million, after it signed a deal with Canada Life to reinsure £6.7 billion of annuity liabilities.

The insurer also maintained the outlook for sales and profitability remained "positive", despite the current difficult market conditions.

Sandy Crombie, Standard Life group chief executive, said: "In our life and pensions businesses, net flows were strong, sales showed good growth and profitability was maintained.

"In Standard Life Investments, net inflows offset the impact of market declines so that third party funds under management remained constant."

The firm reported its life and pensions sales were constant at £7.2 billion in the UK, but its gross mortgage lending fell 54 per cent to £728 million as the company tried to reduce its exposure to the sector.

Self invested personal pension (Sipp) funds rose 12 per cent to £8.6 billion, and its number of Sipp customers was up 23 per cent.

However, average Sipp portfolios fell 8.5 per cent to £150,000.

At 9:41 BST, the Standard Life share price fell 2.46 per cent to 238.25p.