Standard Life’s IFRS adjusted operating profit climbed 25% year-on-year to £563m in H1 2026, up from £451m a year earlier.

The growth was driven by a 36% increase in profit from the pensions and savings division and 13% growth in retirement solutions.

Operating cash generation rose 6% to £745m, while total cash generation increased 15% to £900m, giving the company added flexibility to fund growth initiatives and support its dividend.

Despite the strong operating performance, Standard Life recorded an IFRS loss after tax of £179m, compared with a £156m loss in the prior-year period. This was largely driven by £473m of costs tied to hedging strategies designed to protect the business against volatility in equity markets and interest rates, insulating cash, capital and shareholder returns from market swings.

The company reached its solvency leverage target ahead of schedule, cutting its Solvency II leverage ratio to 29% following £503m of debt redemptions in June. Assets under administration grew 5% since the end of 2025 to £333bn, and the board raised the interim dividend by 2.6% to 28.05p per share, and cumulative annual run-rate cost savings reached £210m, against a £250m year-end target.

CEO, Andy Briggs, pointed to two major growth initiatives underpinning the results: the pending £2bn acquisition of Aegon UK, expected to complete around the end of 2026, which would make Standard Life the largest player in the UK pensions and savings market with roughly 16 million customers; and a newly announced UK pension risk transfer (PRT) partnership with CVC Capital Partners, Prudential Financial, Goldman Sachs and MS&AD, targeting £5-7bn of incremental annual premium capacity from 2027.

Standard Life reiterated its 2026 targets, including full-year adjusted operating profit of approximately £1.1bn, mid-single-digit growth in operating cash generation, and £500m in excess cash generation.

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