UK's Standard Life first-half profit beats on strong pension-risk transfers market

Sept 7 (Reuters) - British insurer Standard Life posted better-than-expected profit for the first half on Monday, benefiting from new business growth and steady demand for its pension risk transfer offerings.  

The UK retirement and insurance sector has benefited from strong demand for pension risk transfer transactions as defined-benefit pension schemes seek to offload liabilities to insurers, creating a growing market for long-term retirement products.

The firm, formerly Phoenix Group, retained its earnings guidance for the fiscal year.

Britain's largest pension firm reported adjusted operating profit before tax of £563 million ($760.73 million) for the first half ended June 30, ahead of company-compiled estimates of £541 million.    

($1 = 0.7401 pounds)

(Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)