Auto insurer Admiral notched up record half-year results as it added another 217,000 United Kingdom motor customers despite further moves to hike the cost of its cover.
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Statutory profit before tax for the six months ended 30 June was £189.5mln, 4% up on the first half of 2015, while group turnover increased by 19%, hitting £1.26bln.
But it said the Brexit vote knocked its balance sheet strength, wiping around 20% off its so-called solvency ratio.
The auto insurance provider said its customer numbers grew by 15% from the same period a year earlier to 4.82 million customers worldwide.
The firm managed to increase its share of the market despite hiking prices by an average of 3pc, as the vehicle insurance industry increases rates after three years of rock-bottom, and often loss-making, prices.
The results saw Admiral push up its first half dividend by 23% thanks to a strong solvency ratio that has made it possible to return £33 million to its shareholders.
Recently-appointed chief executive David Stevens, who took over from co-founder Henry Engelhardt in May, said: “In the core United Kingdom vehicle insurance business, we’ve benefited from an increasingly rational motor market with evidence of a move towards a less violent cycle. Prices have been rising, and we’ve used this opportunity to grow our motor book strongly”, said Mr Stevens.
Auto insurer Admiral saw shares come under pressure as it revealed a Brexit hit and posted weaker-than-expected half-year profits.
(Open): The UK’s benchmark share index opened little changed, but shares in insurer Admiral sank after it warned of risks from the Brexit vote.
Shares in Admiral Group (LON:ADM) have posted a hefty fall in London this morning, as the vehicle insurer revealed that market volatility surrounding the European Union referendum had impacted the company’s solvency ratio.
Shares in vehicle insurer Admiral dropped more that eight per cent on Wednesday as the group warned its solvency position dropped 20 per cent in the first half.
The confused.com website delivered profit growth of 73 per cent in the first half to £8.3 million though overall the comparison website posted a £1.1 million loss as a result of ongoing investment in the US-focussed business compare.com.
Group customers increased 15 percent to 4.82 million.
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Admiral, one of Britain’s largest auto insurance providers with a market share of over 11 percent, also has operations in Spain, Italy and France.
