Standard life reveal 6 percent increase in pre-tax profit

Standard life has reported operating profit is up by 6 per cent to £933m and the improved performance figures were achieved by efficiency gains as a £100m target for cost cuts was achieved ahead of schedule and a further £75m of cuts has been earmarked for the end of next year.

The company now has a capital buffer which means that it is able to survive any further write downs or losses in the financial markets.

At the end of last year shares tumbled by 40 percent but as a result of the chief executive’s delivery Standard’s shares were boosted by more than 7 percent.

The positive results also helped to boost shares in Friends Provident which were up 9.4 percent and Legal & General, which increased by 0.3 percent.

The final dividend will be paid at 7.7p and will result in a 2.3 percent increase in the second year although this was still below market expectations.

The cautious stance taken and the outlook on the dividend caused shares in Aviva to drop as Aviva fell by 10 percent in one day as the outlook is still bleak in the tough economic climate.

Peter Eliot an analyst at MF Global, said that Standard Life’s shares should continue to see value as they are more robust and should continue to perform is a deteriorating market.

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