logo-loader

Standard Life Aberdeen slides as RBC downgrades to ‘Sector Perform’ on ‘flagging’ performance

Published: 10:15 11 Dec 2018 GMT

Asset management
The reliance on asset management was also likely to put pressure on the dividend, RBC said

Shares in Standard Life Aberdeen PLC (LON:SLA) were on the slide in mid-morning trading Tuesday after RBC downgraded the investment firm to ‘Sector Perform’ from ‘Outperform’ citing a “flagging” performance and a “less secure” dividend.

In a note, the Canadian bank said since the disposal of its “highly cash-generative” life insurance business, SLA was now having to rely solely on its asset management activities, whose revenues “rise and fall in line with prevailing market conditions”.

READ: Standard Life Aberdeen appoints Douglas Flint as chairman

As a result of this reliance, analysts said the dividend policy would “come under pressure” as the cover from continuing operations in SLA’s interim results was just above 1x, meaning additional downturns in the market would likely reduce this.

RBC also said that the dividend would be put at risk due to the shrinking of SLA’s assets.

“An asset manager’s earnings are a function of its [assets under management], which are at the mercy of financial market levels, with equity markets a major factor. We forecast that SLA’s AUM will reduce by 9.4% [compound annual growth rate] between mid-2018 and end-2020”.

The bank added that it thought the group’s life insurance business had been sold “too cheaply” at a 21% or £0.8bn discount to what it was worth, with an additional headache for investors as “dividends for life insurers are more secure than they have ever been”.

RBC has the firm pegged with a target price of 260p.

Shares were down 3.8% at 220.3p.

FTSE rises ahead of Easter weekend, JD Sport gains on upbeat outlook -...

The FTSE 100 gained on the final morning of this shortened Easter trading week. Festive cheer was limited though, as Thames Water confirmed shareholders would not provide it with a £500 million rescue package, prompting speculation over the London supplier’s future. On a more positive...

9 minutes ago