Admiral: Shares surge after FTSE 100 giant’s profit jumps
Shares in insurance giant Admiral surged 5.5 per cent in early deals this morning after the group reported a significant jump in earnings for the first half of its financial year, thanks to its UK insurance arm and income from Admiral Money.
The group reported a 69 per cent jump in profit before tax from continuing operations to £521m and earnings per share rose 72 per cent to 132.5p.
However, overall group turnover remained flat compared to the prior year, while insurance revenue rose 18 per cent.
Despite an overall softening across the UK motor insurance market over the past 18 months, Admiral said it had managed to increase UK motor profit before tax from £359m in the six months to the end of June 2024, to £559m. The group recorded a near five per cent increase in the number of vehicles insured in the UK.
Milena Mondini de Focatiis, Admiral’s CEO, told Morning Wire that while rates in motor had been under pressure for around 18 months, claims inflation was still running at “around five per cent”, suggesting prices may be close to finding a bottom.
The company reported a 10 per cent increase in customer numbers across the group.
Kevin Ryan, insurance and asset management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said: “Admiral increased UK Motor pricing ahead of the market in 2023 & raised pricing takes 12-18 months to work through a book of business.
“This also meant that for much of 2024 Admiral’s pricing would have looked competitive relative to peers.”
Off the back of these robust figures, Admiral said it would pay an interim dividend per share of 115p, up 62 per cent from last year.
Admiral’s insurance growth
The company was also helped during the period by income from its household insurance division, which recorded an increase in profit of more than 100 per cent from £11.3m to £25.2m.
Its travel and pet insurance business recorded a loss of £0.1m, up from a loss of £6.9m in the prior period.
Milena Mondini de Focatiis told Morning Wire that while rates in home and travel had seen some softening in recent months due to competition, the group’s focus on quality and the customer experience had paid off. “We’re trying to help the customer as much as possible,” she said. “We’re helping the supply chain and working to improve resilience against events,” she added.
Admiral Money was another bright spot for the group. The arm reported a 139 per cent jump in profit to £16.3m.
Geraint Jones, Admiral’s chief financial officer, said Admiral Money’s growth was partially due to the sale of a portion of the division’s loan book. Forward agreements will continue to be a key part of the arm’s credit management strategy, he added, which should enhance earnings growth going forward.
Overall, the group’s loss ratio rose 0.4 per cent to 57.4 per cent while the expense ratio declined 2.5 per cent to 20.3 per cent.
Admiral’s combined ratio for the period fell from 79.8 per cent to 77.7 per cent.
The company said its sale of US business Elephant, announced earlier this year, was still on track to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Milena Mondini de Focatiis said: “We have delivered another excellent first half with strong execution across all strategic objectives. Group profit increased 69 per cent to a record £521m.
“We have an additional 1m customers across our diversified businesses compared to this time last year, due to our focus on offering competitively priced cover and excellent service across our diversified businesses.
“In the UK, car insurance prices have been falling for the last 18 months due to softer inflation. Our disciplined approach to pricing and growth means that we reported a great performance across the board.
Our UK motor business increased its profit by 56 per cent and the UK household and Admiral Money businesses continued to grow, more than doubling their respective profit. In Europe, we saw good progress with growth in France and Italy, close to restoring profitability.
“I’m very excited to see our businesses go from strength to strength. I’m confident in our fundamentals and adaptability which mean that we are well-placed for further success, delivering even more value for our shareholders and our growing customer base.”