Shares in Admiral (ADM) rose by 9 per cent on the day the motor and home insurance group delivered a strong set of full-year figures. Once again, shareholders were rewarded with another special dividend that, along with the ordinary dividend, equates to a yield of 6 per cent.
The UK car insurance business, which accounts for 81 per cent of group turnover and three-quarters of all customers, saw the number of vehicles insured increase by 5 per cent to 3.3m, while the recently launched home insurance business had attracted more than 300,000 customers in the UK by the year-end. In addition, customer numbers in France and Spain rose 14 per cent to 673,000.
In its domestic market, car insurance profits rose by 11 per cent to a record £443m, although international car insurance losses widened from £19.9m to £22.2m. Confused.com experienced tough competition, and profits fell by more than a fifth to £12.5m.
Overall, finances were in pretty good shape. Full compliance with new Solvency II regulations revealed a surplus of regulatory capital, and included in the special dividend payment is £33m released from reserves, with the promise of more to come.
Analysts at Numis Securities are forecasting pre-tax profits of £359m for 2016 (£377m in 2015) and EPS of 105p.
| ADMIRAL (ADM) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 1,892p | MARKET VALUE: | £5.33bn | |
| TOUCH: | 1,891-1,894p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,900p | LOW: 1,347p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.1% | PE RATIO: | 18 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 219p | COMBINED RATIO: | 85.6% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Net premiums (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Investment income (£m) | Dividend per share (p*) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 446 | 299 | 13.7 | 36.9 |
| 2012 | 499 | 345 | 15.9 | 42.7 |
| 2013 | 483 | 370 | 14.3 | 46.9 |
| 2014 | 465 | 351 | 15.4 | 46.2 |
| 2015 | 467 | 369 | 32.6 | 57.9 |
| % change | +0 | +5 | +112 | +25 |
Ex-div: 12 May Payment: 3 Jun Excludes special dividends: 38.7p in 2011, 47.9p in 2012, 52.6p in 2013, 52.2p in 2014 and 56.5p in 2015 | ||||
