The Standard Aberdeen Board is recommending a final dividend for 2019 of 14.3p (2018: 14.3p) per share. Subject to shareholder approval, this will be paid on 19 May 2020 to shareholders on the register at close of business on 3 April 2020.
The dividend payment is expected to be £322m. At 31 December 2019 Standard Life Aberdeen plc held £1.4bn of cash and liquid resources and £2.3bn of distributable reserves, which will be used to support the dividend.
The final dividend, combined with the 2019 interim dividend of 7.3p, brings the total dividend for the year to 21.6p. Adjusted capital generation for 2019 was £333m, with a further £1,698m of capital generated from HDFC stake sales.
Other financial highlights include:
Fee based revenue of £1,634m, down 13% reflecting impact of net outflows in 2018 and 2019
Adjusted operating expenses of £1,333m, down 4% due to synergies and other efficiencies
o Now expect to deliver £400m of annualised synergies - £350m by end of 2020 and an additional £50m during 2021, at a total cost of £555m
o Cost of separation now expected to be £310m due to increased complexity
Adjusted profit before tax of £584m, down 10% largely reflecting lower revenue
Adjusted diluted EPS of 19.3p, up 8% benefitting from share count reduction
IFRS profit before tax of £243m, up £1bn due to lower total adjusting items charge of £333m (2018: £1,397m charge)
o £1.5bn gain on sales of Indian investments and £140m LBG compensation offsetting £1.6bn non-cash impairment charge in relation to acquired intangible assets
Strong surplus capital position of £1.7bn continues to support investment in the business and shareholder returns
o Over £1bn returned to shareholders in dividends and share buybacks in 2019
