Aviva launches £300m share buyback scheme after posting 35 per cent surge in profits March 9, 2023 Aviva today vowed to buy back another £300m worth of its owns shares from investors after the insurer outstripped analysts expectations by posting a 35 per cent uptick in its operating profits in 2022. The UK insurance giant today said its operating profits had surged by 35 per cent, to £2.2bn, in what company chief [...]
Lloyd’s of London chief: Why the City needs Monday to ‘come back’ March 8, 2023 Lloyd’s of London chief executive John Neal has said he wants to “get Monday back” in calling for brokers and underwriters to return to the office four days a week. The insurance chief said that while “Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are busy” he now wants Lloyd’s staff to work in the firm’s City building on [...]
Beazley forced to lower chief exec’s pay following mistake in insurer’s results March 8, 2023 Beazley was today forced to publish a correction to its balance sheet after the Financial Times spotted an embarrassing error in its annual report. In its annual results statement, insurer Beazley overstated the value of its ‘net assets per share’ in reporting them at 420.8c instead of their real value 386.7c. Beazley’s error is particularly [...]
In-house lawyers will need both investment and a more proactive approach to survive, says senior PwC exec March 8, 2023 PwC is seeking to profit on the global downturn by offering companies advice on ways they can overhaul their in-house legal segments, to boost growth and cut costs. The Big Four firm is claiming businesses must fundamentally transform their in-house legal departments, in order to survive in an increasingly competitive world. This means turning risk [...]
Insurer Hiscox hikes dividend after posting best underwriting profits since 2015 March 8, 2023 London-listed insurer Hiscox today upped its dividend after posting its highest underwriting profits since 2015. Profit from its insurance business surged 25 per cent, from $215.6m in 2021 to $269.5m in 2022 shrugging of the potential impacts from several extreme weather events and the war in Ukraine. Hiscox, however, saw its overall profits drop, as [...]
Admiral cuts dividend as profits are pulled down nearly 40 per cent amid ‘challenging’ market conditions March 8, 2023 Insurance firm Admiral has slashed its dividend after announcing a 39 per cent fall in its full year profits. Shares in the Cardiff insurer plummeted on the news, before recovering slightly in today’s morning session, as Admiral said its 2022 dividend would be 40 per cent lower than in 2021 and 20 lower than in [...]
PwC fined £7.5m over repeated failures in audit of Babcock International’s accounts March 8, 2023 Britain’s accounting watchdog has fined PwC and two of its former partners a combined sum of almost £8m over repeated failures in the firm’s audits of UK defence company Babcock International and its Plymouth dockyard subsidiary. The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) hit PwC with a £7.5m fine – discounted to £5.625m for the firm’s [...]
Royal London: Insurer’s profits up 58 per cent as asset troubles offset by pensions growth March 8, 2023 Royal London today said it successfully boosted its profits by 58 per cent in 2022 in the face of “difficult market conditions”. The insurer saw its operating profits jump to £210m as the adverse impacts on its asset management arm were offset by strong performances across the rest of its business. Royal London, the UK’s [...]
Legal & General raises dividend as higher interest rates help it profit from pensions buyout boom March 8, 2023 Legal & General (L&) has hiked its dividend after outstripping market expectations by boosting its profits by 12 per cent. Higher profits in L&G’s pensions and life insurance segments offset lower incomes from its asset management business, LGIM, after it suffered from the impacts of market volatility. L&G upped its dividend by five per cent, [...]
Just Group profits on pensions buyout boom as rising interest rates drive record deals March 7, 2023 Just Group today said the boom in pensions buyout deals had helped boost its underlying profits by 19 per cent. The Surrey firm completed 56 pensions de-risking deals, worth £2.6bn, successfully profiting on the pension’s buyout boom. Higher interest rates over the previous year have improved pension scheme funding levels, in a shift that has [...]