Economic conditions in 2008 were extremely tough and remain so. The impact of the financial crisis spread far beyond the banking industry to affect the whole of the corporate world and has shaken people’s everyday lives. It has been a deeply unsettling time for all investors, including our own shareholders. But Standard Life’s performance in this unpredictable market has been solid and – crucially – we continue to maintain a strong capital base that is resilient to market conditions. Our share price held up well relative to our competitors in 2008, and we continue to generate value for our shareholders.
While volatile financial conditions undermined the stability of businesses around the world, Standard Life’s performance was solid and we are recommending a final dividend of 7.70p per share, making a total dividend of 11.77p for 2008, an increase of 2.3%. Looking forward the Group will continue to apply its existing progressive dividend policy taking account of market conditions and the Group’s financial performance.
In a tough year, we believe we continued to deliver long-term value for our shareholders, largely as a result of our commitment to responsible growth. This includes financial management and extends throughout the way we run our business, encompassing fundamentals such as how we look after our customers, develop and challenge our people, support our communities, and reduce our environmental impact.
From a financial perspective, our responsible approach centres on cash generation, capital efficiency and the conservative investment management policy that has given us a strong balance sheet even in a falling market. Our Group capital surplus remained stable at £3.3bn, after allowing for the payment of the final dividend, despite the adverse market conditions and is largely unchanged since last year. We will continue to focus on capital strength as one of our key priorities.
We are also reducing risk in our business wherever we see opportunities to do so. For example, one of our most significant transactions in 2008 was the reinsurance of £6.7bn of UK immediate annuity liabilities to Canada Life International Re. By releasing cash from reserves and reducing our capital requirements, this transaction had the dual benefit of cutting risk for shareholders and increasing returns for policyholders in our Heritage With Profits Fund.
Another keystone of our strategy is to drive for operational excellence and we stepped up efforts to streamline our business in 2008, making the most of synergies across the Group to help us achieve our cost-efficiency targets. We have more to do in this area – in particular, by moving to ensure that all our operations worldwide form an integrated asset managing business with a distinctive competence in both investment management and customer propositions.
7.70p
Recommended final dividend payment per share
In the difficult times that we are all facing, it is important for the financial services industry to begin the process of rebuilding the trust of its shareholders and its customers. Confidence has been severely damaged and we all need to find new ways to engage with our stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, intermediaries and the media. Our industry has to work harder to promote financial awareness and help people develop practical money skills. Standard Life intends to be an active participant in this and our commitment is reflected in a range of financial education initiatives, including On the Money – an exciting programme that helps primary school children to grasp simple financial concepts.
"In the difficult times that we are all facing, it is important for the financial services industry to begin the process of rebuilding the trust of its shareholders and its customers"
In a wider drive to spread knowledge and skills, we encourage our people to support their local communities through voluntary activities, and the Standard Life Chairman’s Awards provide a focus for recognising outstanding work in this area. In difficult times many businesses become inward looking, but we intend to put even greater emphasis on corporate responsibility and on living up to the goals we have set ourselves.
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Likewise in governance. Standard Life Investments is a leader in this field and I want our Group practices and procedures to be amongst the best in class. There must be a debate in the UK about improving the way boards exercise their responsibilities on behalf of shareholders, particularly in the financial services sector. We intend to contribute fully to these discussions.
I’m delighted to congratulate our Group Chief Executive, Sir Sandy Crombie, on his knighthood in the 2009 New Year Honours List and to thank him for his dedication to Standard Life for more than 40 years. Sir Sandy and the Board have agreed that the process of identifying his successor should start in 2009. There is no fixed timetable and the Board do not envisage making any further statements about this matter until a successor has been confirmed and a timetable for the transition has been set. Sir Sandy will remain as the Group Chief Executive until his successor has been appointed and an orderly handover process has been conducted. As announced, Jocelyn Proteau will retire from the Board at the conclusion of the 2009 AGM. We will miss Jocelyn greatly for his significant contributions, which included bringing a valuable transatlantic perspective to our deliberations, and chairing the board of The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada with distinction and commitment.
Our customers remain at the heart of our business. For us, treating customers fairly must be more than a regulatory requirement, it must be a deep-rooted attitude. So where things go wrong – and, regrettably, in a complex business like ours they sometimes do – we take rapid remedial action to show our commitment to doing the right thing. When the value of our Pension Sterling Fund fell earlier this year in a way that customers would not have anticipated, we listened to their feedback and acted. We restored the value of the fund and put each customer back into the position they would have been before the fund’s fall in value on 14 January 2009, reflecting price movement towards the end of 2008.
Savers and investors face major challenges over the coming years and we aim to help them address these with products that meet their needs and with clear guidance that supports good decisions. As part of this, we have strongly backed our industry’s Retail Distribution Review, which marks a move towards greater clarity, professionalism and transparency for customers – and will continue to support it as it moves towards implementation. Last year also saw the Pensions Act 2008 come into force. We applaud its intention to improve levels of long-term savings in the UK through workplace schemes and hope this will give rise to opportunities for Standard Life. However, we are still concerned that it may affect existing high quality schemes, and will continue to engage with the government to help minimise any such side-effects.
The impact of the present economic crisis on all of us is going to be felt for many years to come. It will take concerted international action by governments and radical solutions to help put things right, and we will all have to play a part in this if the opportunities for future generations are to be as great as those we ourselves have had.
More immediately, as we confront the uncertainties of 2009, we will continue to pursue the strategy of responsible growth that has become our hallmark in the last five years. I believe that we remain in good shape to weather these difficult times and that when things improve, as they are bound to do in due course, we will be well placed to take advantage of the opportunities that arise in the UK and internationally.
Gerry Grimstone
Chairman
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