Stan Life profit up 51 percent

By Clara Ferreira-Marques

LONDON (Reuters) - Insurer Standard Life posted a 51 percent rise in interim operating profit on Wednesday, boosted by gains from a deal to protect itself against the impact of people living longer.

Standard Life's (SL.L) operating profit on an embedded value basis totalled 534 million pounds, just ahead of an average forecast of 525 million.

The firm, which had been more exposed than rivals to the financial risk posed by people living longer, signed a deal in February to reinsure more than half its UK annuity liabilities.

The insurer benefited from a 119 million pound boost to its operating line as a result of the 6.7 billion annuity deal with Canada Life, and from subsequent accounting assumption changes.

On the alternative IFRS basis, six-month operating profit rose 58 percent, again helped by gains from the reinsurance deal. The interim dividend was raised 7 percent to 4.07 pence.

The former mutual said on Wednesday its sales climbed 5 percent in the six months, in line with larger rivals like Aviva (AV.L) and Legal & General (LGEN.L) which have also seen resilient performances despite the worsening economic backdrop.

But profits from new business rose just 4 percent to 157 million pounds -- below forecasts of a 9 percent rise -- as margins at the group's smaller Canadian and European businesses eroded a stable 1.9 percent margin at home, just below its 2 percent 2008 target.

Overall, the group's margin dipped to 1.7 percent.