Standard Life plc (LON:SDLF) has announced its 2026 Interim Results Announcement
Strong strategic and operating momentum; achieving 2026 targets
Uniquely positioned in attractive markets
Building momentum through execution against strategic priorities
Poised for further growth with Aegon UK acquisition and UK PRT partnership
“Standard Life continues to demonstrate exciting momentum against our vision to be the UK’s leading retirement savings and income business. Our strong half year results reflect how we are helping more customers achieve better outcomes and we remain on track to deliver our end-2026 financial targets, while our profitable growth and strong cash generation is increasing our financial flexibility. The £2 billion acquisition of Aegon UK and our recently announced UK PRT partnership will further strengthen our capabilities and customer offering. Standard Life champions the belief that everyone’s journey to and through retirement can be better and we look to the future with confidence.”
Andy Briggs, Group Chief Executive Officer
Strong H1 2026 financial performance across all key metrics:
| 30 June 2026 | Comparative | Change | |
| Operating Cash Generation 1 | £745m | £705m (H1 2025) | +6% YoY |
| Total cash generation 2 | £900m | £784m (H1 2025) | +15% YoY |
| Shareholder Capital Coverage Ratio 3,4 | 169% | 176% (FY 2025) | -7%pts 6-mth |
| Solvency II (‘SII’) surplus 4 | £3.2bn | £3.6bn (FY 2025) | -11% 6-mth |
| SII leverage ratio 5 | 29% | 33% (FY 2025) | -4%pts 6-mth |
| IFRS adjusted operating profit | £563m | £451m (H1 2025) | +25% YoY |
| Cumulative annual run-rate cost savings delivered | £210m | £180m (FY 2025) | +17% 6-mth |
| IFRS loss after tax | £(179)m | £(156)m (H1 2025) | -15% YoY |
| IFRS adjusted shareholders’ equity | £2,702m | £3,098m (FY 2025) | -13% 6-mth |
| 2026 Interim dividend per share | 28.05p | 27.35p (H1 2025) | +2.6% YoY |
| Assets under administration | £333bn | £317bn (FY 2025) | +5% 6-mth |
Continued operating momentum in core businesses with 6% growth in OCG1 and 25% growth in IFRS adjusted operating profit
Pensions and Savings: growth in AUA and improving margins driving strong earnings development
· Workplace and Retail momentum continues, supported by strong customer engagement, improving satisfaction, high client retention and innovative solutions that help customers navigate evolving financial needs
· 36% IFRS adjusted operating profit growth in our capital-light fee-based business to £244m (H1 2025: £179m)
· 10% growth in average assets under administration (‘AUA’) to £217bn (H1 2025: £198bn)
· Cost efficiencies drove a 4bps margin improvement to 22bps (H1 2025: 18bps)
· 23% Operating Cash Generation1 (‘OCG’) growth to £203m (H1 2025: £165m)
Retirement Solutions: delivering strong contributions to OCG1 and continued discipline in competitive PRT market
· Strong performances across Pension Risk Transfer (‘PRT’) and Individual Annuities, combining customer-focused propositions with disciplined participation in competitive markets
· 5% OCG1 growth in our capital-utilising spread-based business to £466m (H1 2025: £443m)
· 6% growth in average AUA to £42.0bn (H1 2025: £39.5bn)
· Attractive OCG1 margin maintained at 222bps (H1 2025: 224bps), supported by our capital efficiency, scale and recurring management actions
· 13% IFRS adjusted operating profit growth to £324m (H1 2025: £286m)
· Disciplined capital deployment maintained and generation of lifetime IRRs of more than 20% in PRT. We expect to deploy up to c.£200m of capital across PRT and Individual Annuities in 2026
Accelerating our vision to be the UK’s leading retirement savings and income business through proposed Aegon UK acquisition and by expanding our PRT business with up to £2bn partnership
Proposed £2bn Aegon UK acquisition announced on 15 April 2026
· The £2bn6 acquisition is strategically and financially compelling and significantly strengthens our capabilities and customer offering in the capital-light fee-based Pensions and Savings market
· Establishes Standard Life as the largest player in the UK Pensions and Savings market on a pro forma basis, underpinned by number two positions in both the Workplace and Retail markets
· On track for completion around the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals
Expanding UK PRT business with proposed up to £2bn partnership announced on 20 August 2026
· Announced a strategic partnership, with CVC Capital Partners plc and Prudential Financial, Inc. of the US, alongside The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc. and other long-term institutional investors to expand our PRT business
· The partnership combines the strength of Standard Life’s existing PRT proposition and operating expertise with the additional capital and specialist investment capabilities of the partners and enables us to target the schemes that are over £2bn in size, the fastest growing part of the UK PRT market
· Standard Life will have operational control and a 25% economic interest, contributing £500m over a 5-year period of the up to £2bn initial combined capital commitment, supporting incremental PRT volume capacity of £5-7bn per annum, in addition to Standard Life volumes
· Expected to launch in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals
Building momentum across our strategic priorities
Grow: meeting more of our existing customers’ needs and acquiring new customers
· Products and distribution:
· Launched Future Opportunities, a new alternative pension default solution to help drive better member outcomes by opening up access to private markets
· Expanded Standard Life advice proposition and relaunched Tailored Investment Bond, an onshore investment bond, to meet the evolving tax planning needs of customers
· Broadened distribution of our Smoothed Managed Fund through launch on Quilter platform
Optimise: optimising our scale in-force business and balance sheet
· Excess cash generation has enabled us to achieve our c.30% SII leverage ratio5 target at 30 June 2026
· $350m Tier 2 notes and £250m Tier 3 notes both repaid in June 2026
· SII leverage ratio5 improved by 4% points to 29% (FY 2025: 33%)
· Unique in-house expertise delivering better customer outcomes and enhancing returns
· £12bn of £42bn annuity-backing assets managed in-house
Enhance: transforming our operating model and culture
· Cumulative run-rate cost savings increased to £210m (FY 2025: £180m)
Outlook – On track across all 2026 financial targets
| Financial target | Progress | Performance in H1 2026: in year or cumulative since start of 2024 | |
| Cash | Mid-single digit percentage growth p.a. in Operating Cash Generation1 | On track | • 6% growth year-on-year in H1 2026 to £745m |
| Total cash generation2 3-year target of £5.1bn across 2024-26 | On track | • £4.4bn achieved cumulatively across 2024 – H1 2026 | |
| Capital | Operate within our 140-180% Shareholder Capital Coverage Ratio3 operating range | In upper half of target range | • 169% at the end of H1 2026 |
| SII leverage ratio5 of c.30% by the end of 2026 | Achieved | • 4% point improvement to 29% in H1 2026 | |
| Earnings | c.£1.1bn of IFRS adjusted operating profit in 2026 | On track | • 25% growth year-on-year in H1 2026 to £563m |
| £250m of annual run-rate cost savings by the end of 2026 | On track | • £210m cumulative run-rate savings achieved by the end of H1 2026 |
· We expect to deliver c.£500m of excess cash in 2026, our final year of using excess cash to de-lever
· Excess cash to grow over time as OCG1 grows faster than our recurring uses. Supports our progressive and sustainable dividend policy and creates financial flexibility
· Excess cash generated post-2026 will be available to be deployed to the highest returning opportunities, in line with our capital allocation framework. We will look to strike the right balance between growth opportunities and shareholder returns
· Following the Aegon UK acquisition, IFRS shareholders’ equity is expected to increase and be positive in 2027
30 November 2026 Capital Markets Update
· Post-2026, the broad strategic direction for Standard Life will be in line with our current vision
· At the Standard Life Capital Markets Update, management will present further detail on the post-2026 strategic priorities and new financial guidance. We will also outline usages of excess cash for 2027
