Standard Life made a pre-tax profit of £604m ($928m) in 2014, up 19% on the £506m the previous year, with group assets under administration increasing to £297bn from £215bn in 2013.
The company said that it had benefited from £60.5bn of assets acquired when the company bought Ignis Asset Management in 2014 as well as from £20.4bn of positive market movements and net inflows of £1.0bn. It also made £2.2bn from the sale of its Canadian life insurance business to Manulife (IAR, 4 September, Standard Life Canada sold to Manulife for £2.2bn).
Asset management arm Standard Life Investments saw revenue increased by 33% to £686m from £514m in 2013, which included a 43% increase in revenue from third party assets to £557m from £390m in 2013.
Standard Life added that in the wake of pension changes announced in the Budget in March 2014 it had seen a significant reduction in demand for individual annuities and as a result expects a step down in the profitability of its spread/risk business in the coming years. The company added that it expects the contribution from new annuity business to reduce by £10m-£15m and the contribution from asset liability management to reduce by £30m-£40m in 2015.
"We have made good strategic progress during the year with the acquisition of Ignis Asset Management and the sale of our Canadian operations increasing focus on fee business and enabling a £1.75bn return to shareholders," said CEO David Nish. "We are also well positioned to deal with the far-reaching reforms to the savings and retirement income rules in the UK and to support customers through these changes. Standard Life Investments has continued to perform strongly and expand internationally.
"Although investment markets are unsettled and may affect the near-term pace of asset and revenue growth, we are very well placed for the future."