Standard Life has reported that its profit before tax increased by 20% year-on-year in 2024, reaching $6.8bn.

The life assurance, pensions and long-term savings firm also recorded an operating income of $19.7bn, which is an annual increase of 13%.

However, in this time, its operating expenses increased by 6% to a loss of $11.8bn, while its profit from associates and joint ventures fell by 47% from $94m to $50m.

In Q4, the firm's operating income reached $4.8bn, which beat expectations set to $4.5bn, while its profit before tax slightly missed expectations, reaching $1bn compared to an estimated $1.1bn.

Group chief executive at Standard Life, Bill Winters, said: "We produced a strong set of results in 2024. Our strategy of combining differentiated cross-border capabilities for corporate and institutional clients with leading wealth management expertise for affluent clients is firing on all cylinders, driving an increase in return on tangible equity to 11.7%. We delivered record income of $19.7bn, including a very strong performance in Wealth Solutions, up 29%, and double-digit growth in global markets and global banking, and momentum has continued into 2025."

Looking ahead, the firm said that it is increasing shareholder distributions and has announced a $1.5bn share buyback, along with a proposed final dividend of 28 cents per share.

This brings its total shareholder distribution since the end of 2023 to $4.9bn, which is over half way to its target of at least $8bn.

Standard Life expects its operating income to be below its 5% to 7% range for 2025, while estimating that its operating expenses will be below $12.3bn in 2026.

Senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Matt Britzman, concluded: "Standard’s latest quarter showed continued momentum, powered by a rock-solid top line and impairments that didn’t bite as hard as expected - a pattern we’ve seen across the UK’s banking giants lately. Of course, a $342m software impairment muddied the picture, but it won’t impact capital levels - strip it out, and pre-tax profits crushed forecasts.

"Standard’s flexing its capital muscle, announcing a hefty $4.9bn in shareholders returns over the year, with the size of the latest $1.5bn buyback a nice surprise. Still, despite the strong quarter, 2025 guidance only got a tiny bump, hitting the top of the prior range - echoing the lack of ambitious guidance from other UK bank bosses this week.

"Whether it’s savvy restraint or a whiff of trouble ahead, we’ll see. The lack of guidance upgrade is likely keeping a lid on the shares today, but the bottom line is that Standard’s in its best shape in years, with cost cuts still in the pipeline and an Asian wealth management business ready to fuel more growth."

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