28
January
2009
New business results - twelve months to 31 December 2008
Net flows resilient in the face of difficult market conditions
- Worldwide life and pensions net inflows of £2.4bn (2007: £2.8bn)
- Worldwide third party net investment inflows, excluding money market funds, of £3.8bn (2007: £5.3bn)
New business sales supported by international performance
- Worldwide life and pensions sales 6% lower at £15.6bn (2007: £16.5bn)
- UK life and pensions sales 9% lower at £12.2bn (2007: £13.4bn)
- Canadian life and pensions sales 9% higher at £2.0bn (2007: £1.7bn)
- 17% increase in Asian sales volumes to £495m (2007: £266m)
Preliminary results expected to show strong RoEV and solid cash generation
- Return on Embedded Value (RoEV) expected to be ahead of current market expectations and broadly similar to the 11.5% reported in 2007
- IFRS profitability expected to be lower due to significant volatility in investment markets
- Core capital and cash generation expected to remain robust
Capital strength maintained
- Estimated FGD surplus of £3.5bn at 31 December 2008 has remained largely insensitive to volatile markets
(30 September 2008: £3.4bn)
Group Chief Executive Sir Sandy Crombie said:
"I am pleased to report another solid set of new business results from Standard Life against an increasingly difficult economic backdrop.
"We face challenging market conditions with a strong capital base, innovative and capital lite platform propositions, excellence in customer service, and strong distribution relationships. We remain confident in our ability to outperform in the profitable segments in which we operate."
Unless otherwise stated, all sales figures are on a PVNBP basis and all comparisons are in sterling and with the twelve months ending 31 December 2007. All figures are subject to audit.
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