Admiral profits rebound as staff receive £3,600 bonus

More than 9,600 staff at the motor insurer have received a shares windfall of £3,600.

Last year, profits for the Cardiff-based company rose £403.5 million. This is an increase of 45% from 2016. Also, UK-based insurance customers rose to 4.62 million, an increase of 12%.

The Elephant and Confused.com owner has soared back from a profit fall of a quarter in 2016 following the UK government’s change in policy of how personal injury claims are calculated, known as the Ogden calculation.

In the UK, motor premiums rose 12% to £2 billion. This is directly linked to the rise in prices following the change in the Ogden method. Admiral said rates reduced nearing the end of the year, however.

The Chief Financial Officer of Admiral, Geraint Jones, said the firm is making “good progress” in relation to a rise in profits and also adjusting trading processes come Brexit.

The company is also setting up locally-regulated entities in Spain and France, where its Rastreator and LeLynx businesses will work. Admiral already has staff at Madrid and Seville.

Geraint Jones says restructuring plans will not be terribly significant with no impact on jobs in the UK.

An increase of 13% in its final dividend was announced by the firm with 18.5% per share special dividend.

Admiral is also moving its businesses processes to more diverse fields, now handling home and van insurance as well as home loans.

“We see more than 40% growth again in household customers and turnover, really pleasing figures again from household. And in our international insurers, the turnover was up by nearly a quarter heading towards £0.5 and customer numbers were up by a fifth, breaking through 1 million customers outside the UK, continued strong momentum, and more than 10% growth in the turnover from the price comparison businesses as well”, said Geraint Jones.

David Stevens, Admiral’s CEO, said: “And so we’re now 25 years old and the 25 logo that you’ll see throughout the presentation reflects that.

“There’s a picture of the founding management team when we were 57 staff, one country, one brand, new customers, slightly stiff and dour looking bunch. And there we are today, nine-and-a-half thousand staff, five-and-three-quarter million customers, eight countries, 18 brands. So as you see a much bigger management team both collectively and sadly individually.”

The presentation of the Q4 results from David Stevens and Geraint Jones can be viewed here.