Operating profit before tax was up to £6m ($10m, €7.5m), compared with a loss of £1m in the first half of last year, mainly boosted by a £4m increase to £9m in the profits produced by Standard Life’s joint ventures in India and China.
The UK headquartered company said its HDFC Life joint venture in India “continues to lead the private market by net flows and has made a strong start to this year ranking number one by gross sales”.
Standard Life’s operations in Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai meanwhile, saw a reduction in losses from £6m in the first half of 2013 to £3m this year. The company said this was helped by a £2m increase in fee revenue and a 12% increase in its customer base during the six month period.
There were however scontinuing acquisition and maintenance costs for the division which, while reduced, still came in at £7m and £25m respectively.
Asia and emerging markets chief executive Alan Armitage said: “We are focused on building a sustainable business across our markets. Through Standard Life Investments’ expertise and increased collaboration across the group, we are delivering efficiencies and ensuring we are well-placed to benefit from the changes in the regulatory landscape in the regions in which we operate.
“We are well positioned to drive forward our ambitions and become a leading retail savings and investment business in our chosen markets.”
At the group level, Standard Life increased its fee business revenue by 12% to £758m, closing the period with assets under administration of £254.1bn (4% up on a year ago) having attracted £4.6bn of inflows. Operating profit before tax was also up 12% to £339m.
