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Standard Life plc
🇬🇧 SDLF.LSE · London · GB00BGXQNP29
Insurance
Scores
Key Metrics
Powered by EODHDP/E (TTM)
N/A
P/E (Price-to-Earnings)Shows how much investors pay for each $1 of profit. We display the TTM P/E (Trailing Twelve Months) which uses actual earnings from the last 4 quarters. This is more reliable than Forward P/E which uses analyst estimates.
Why N/A?
Current price not available.
Net Debt/EBITDA (TTM)
-11.2x
Net Debt / EBITDAA leverage ratio showing how many years of EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) it would take to repay net debt. EBITDA approximates operating cash generation. Lower ratios (e.g., <3x) are generally safer; higher (e.g., >5x) may indicate more financial risk.
The quarterly value can spike when quarterly EBITDA is very low (e.g., one-time charges).
Quick guide: <2x manageable, >4x can be risky (sector-dependent).
ROE
-25.4%
ROE (Return on Equity)A profitability measure: how much profit is generated from shareholders’ equity. Higher isn’t always better if it comes from high debt.
Dividend Summary
Powered by EODHDDividend Yield (Fwd)
6.08% TTM
Dividend YieldThe Forward yield (Fwd) shows the next announced annual dividend / current price — what you'd earn going forward. The Trailing yield (TTM) in the tooltip shows dividends actually paid in the last 12 months. Forward is shown as primary because it reflects the company's current commitment to shareholders.
Trailing Yield (TTM, last 12 months): 6.08%
Payout Ratio (Fwd)
111.7% TTM
Payout RatioDividends as a percentage of earnings. The Forward payout (Fwd) uses the announced dividend divided by actual past earnings (TTM) — it tells you if the company can afford what it promised. Very high payouts can be risky, especially if profits fall.
Announced dividend / actual earnings (TTM)
Dividend History
EODHD Dividends API| Status | Type | Decl. Date | Ex-Div Date | Pay Date | Currency | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forecast* | Final | — | 09 Apr 2027 | — | GBP | 0.2805 |
| Forecast* | Interim | — | 25 Sep 2026 | — | GBP | 0.2735 |
| Paid | Final | 16 Mar 2026 | 09 Apr 2026 | 20 May 2026 | GBP | 0.2805 |
| Paid | Interim | 08 Sep 2025 | 25 Sep 2025 | 30 Oct 2025 | GBP | 0.2735 |
* Extrapolated from past dividend history. Not an official announcement — treat as an estimate, not a confirmed date or amount.
Summary
Standard Life plc is a premier UK life insurance consolidator offering a highly secure 6.1% dividend yield backed by robust underlying cash generation. The recurring statutory net losses are optical accounting distortions driven by prudent hedging strategies, rather than structural cash flow deterioration. Worth considering for new positions at current levels given the attractive forward P/E of 13.0, offering a compelling opportunity for dividend investors willing to look past temporary IFRS volatility.
Sector Context
Standard Life plc (formerly Phoenix Group) is the UK's largest long-term savings and retirement business, specializing in acquiring and managing closed-book life insurance policies and executing bulk purchase annuities. In the life insurance sector, standard IFRS accounting can be heavily distorted by economic hedging variances; therefore, underlying cash generation, Solvency II surplus trends, and capital generation guidance are the true indicators of dividend sustainability, rather than statutory net income.
Temporary Opportunity Identified
Recurring statutory IFRS net losses are optical accounting distortions caused by the company's Solvency II hedging strategies against interest rate and equity market volatility, which protect underlying capital but create short-term accounting mismatches.
📊 Strategy Analysis
- • Trading at an attractive forward P/E of 13.0 with a 6.1% dividend yield, presenting a compelling entry point for income investors.
- • The recurring statutory IFRS net losses are optical accounting distortions driven by prudent Solvency II hedging strategies, masking strong underlying cash generation that fully covers the dividend.
- • Exceptional dividend reliability with 9 years of consecutive payments, zero cuts in the past decade, and a 3.2% 5-year CAGR.
- • Dominant market position in UK heritage life insurance and bulk purchase annuities provides highly predictable, long-term cash flows.
⚠ What to Watch
- • UK PRA regulatory tightening (CP8/26) on funded reinsurance threatens to structurally compress capital arbitrage margins in the highly profitable Bulk Purchase Annuity (BPA) business.
- • FCA Consumer Duty regulations enforce strict ongoing 'fair value' assessments on legacy closed-books, creating structural margin pressure and elevated compliance costs.
- • Dependence on fragmented legacy IT systems and ongoing TCS BaNCS migrations introduce chronic operational risks and potential regulatory data challenges.
Analysis date: 2026-07-25
Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only. Not financial advice.