Admiral posts forecast-beating rise in first-half profit

19th Aug 2015 07:42

(ShareCast News) - Shares in Admiral Group rose after the insurer reported a forecast-beating 1% increase in first-half pre-tax profit as it benefited from growing customer numbers.Pre-tax profit for the six months ended 30 June was £186.1m, up from £184.9m in the first half of 2014 and beating consensus expectations for a drop in profit to around £163m.Earnings per share were up 4% to 54.8p while the interim dividend was lifted 3% to 51p per share, ahead of forecasts of 47p per share.Group customers rose 6% to 4.19m and profit in the UK car insurance division grew 6% to £219.2m, mainly on the back of higher reserve releases.The combined ratio came in at 82.7%, down from 85.1% in the same period last year.Chief executive officer Henry Engelhardt said: "A good start to a challenging year. Profits are up, customer numbers are up, earnings per share is up, the dividend is up ... you might say it was a pretty 'up' first half!"The UK business turned in a very solid result helped by positive claims cost development, with modest growth accompanying price increases. Overall I'd say, it has been a good first half."Engelhardt highlighted the strong performance of the group's Italian business, ConTe, noting that it delivered an accounting profit for the half year and that improved loss ratio projections show the operation was profitable in 2012 on a written basis.Shore Capital said the interims were better than its top-of-the range forecasts, reflecting the impact of an 83% combined ratio, which offset a reduction of around 9% in ancillary income and a loss from price comparison divisions.