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Admiral Group PLC shares were on the rise early Thursday, after it declared a nearly doubled payout for 2024, which it called ‘a remarkable year’ after a several ‘rather challenging’ ones. Admiral shares were up 6.6% to 3,092.00 pence early Thursday in London. The Cardiff, Wales-based general insurer said pretax profit increased by 90% to £839.2 million in 2024 from £442.8 million in 2023, as group turnover surged 28% to £6.15 billion from £4.81 billion. Within this, insurance revenue grew by 37% to £4.78 billion from £3.49 billion. Even better, group combined ratio improved by nine percentage points to 79.7% from 88.7%. A combined ratio below 100% indicates a profit on underwriting, so the lower the better. Earnings per share nearly doubled to 216.6 pence from 111.2p. Admiral declared a final dividend of 121.0p, up from 52.0p a year before. This lifted its total dividend by 86% to 192.0p from 103.0p. After paying the dividend, Admiral’s solvency ratio will be 203%, up from 200% a year before. ‘To remain one of the most competitive insurers for the largest number of people is a priority for us,’ said Chief Executive Officer Milena Mondini de Focatiis. ‘We have emerged from several rather challenging years so when we saw conditions improve we were quick to respond. We were one of the first to reduce prices in response to easing inflation and cut rates the day after the favourable Ogden rate change announcement.’ The Ogden rate is used in the UK to calculate compensation for personal injury claims. It is the discount rate used to calculate the future value of lost earnings and of care costs. Back in December, it was raised to positive 0.50% from negative 0.25%, which will reduce claim costs for insurers such as Admiral. Looking ahead to 2025, the CEO said, ‘the market is softening, and the outlook is uncertain’. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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