Final Results.
YEAR END RESULTS 2011
Good year for the Group on both the top and bottom line
Net written premiums of £8.1bn, up 9% (8% at constant exchange)
Underwriting result of £375m, up 58% and a combined operating ratio (COR) of 94.9%
Investment result of £642m, up 19% driven by gains following action to reduce equity exposure
Operating profit of £884m, up 38% and profit before tax of £613m, up 29%
IGD surplus of £1.3bn, coverage remains strong at 2.0 times
Continued strong operating performance in 2012 despite ongoing market and economic challenges
Expect to deliver good premium growth and a COR of better than 95%
Profitability will remain strong in Scandinavia, Canada and Ireland; driving improved UK underwriting performance; Italian remediation remains a priority
Investment income to be around £500m, reflecting the ongoing gap between maturing and reinvestment yields
Confident of delivering sustained outperformance at both local and Group level
Fundamental strengths unchanged; retain non-life bias with rigorous focus on underwriting discipline and control
Strong and diversified portfolio combines leading positions in competitive UK market, strong operations in Scandinavia and Canada, consistent outperformance in Ireland, and fast growing Emerging Markets
Overseas operations to constitute a greater share of Group premiums current target is c70% by the end of 2015; now expect to be close to this in 2014 and move beyond 70% in subsequent years
Reposition UK as a more targeted and focused business, which delivers improved and sustained profitability
M&A focus will be on bolt-on deals
Continued growth in dividend
Prudent to grow the dividend at more modest levels, reflecting the impact of low yields
Recommended final dividend up by 2% to 5.82p, full year dividend of 9.16p
Strongly placed to return to a higher level of dividend growth as market and economic conditions improve.