Admiral boosts profit in full-year financials

It’s the turn of Admiral Group Plc to reveal how it performed in 2020, which turned out to be a profitable year for the Cardiff-headquartered insurer.

In its financial results report this morning, Admiral said its group statutory profit before tax from continuing operations amounted to £608.2 million. The figure signifies a 20% increase from the £505.1 million posted in 2019.

Meanwhile “group’s share of profit before tax” – an alternative performance measure which represents Admiral’s profit before tax excluding the impact of non-controlling interests – grew 21% from £526.1 million previously to £638.4 million this time around.

Broken down, here’s where the overall £638.4 million came from:

“2020 was certainly not an ordinary year, but one that I like to think of as a ‘litmus test’ for the business – where, despite the turbulent context, we demonstrated strong operational resilience and agility, we delivered a positive set of financial results, we stayed true to our values, and we did what we believed was right for all our stakeholders,” commented new group chief executive Milena Mondini de Focatiis.

“Our existing customers chose to stay with us more than ever before, and we increased the share of those switching from other insurers to Admiral, resulting in over 650,000 new customers in 2020. The year saw profit before tax exceeding £600 million, driven by strong reserve releases and a decrease in claims frequency as people drove less during lockdowns.”

Meanwhile, around 10,000 staff will each receive free Admiral shares worth up to £3,600 under the employee share scheme based on the 2020 results. Additionally, the company – which also gave back to customers through the £110 million “Admiral Stay at Home Refund” in the UK as well as substantial pricing reductions across the group – said its board has proposed a final dividend of 86 pence per share payable on June 04.