Standard Life pre-tax profits dip 13% in 2013

It blamed the fall in pre-tax profit of £751m - down from £963m last year - on "lower benefits of other operating income". Despite this, assets under administration were up 12% to £244.2bn, driven it said, by strong net inflows up 92% to £9.6bn. The final dividend was up 8% to 10.58p making a total of 15.80p or £375m for the year. The insurer reported strong operational performance with fee revenue up 15% to £1.4bn. Chief executive David Nish said: "Standard Life has had another strong year with business unit underlying performance up 25% to £704m. We continue to invest to meet the larg...