Amlin profits sliced in two

2nd Mar 2011 08:15

Last year's earthquakes in Chile and New Zealand, storms in Europe and floods in Australia halved profits at Amlin in 2010.Profit before tax fell 49% to £259.2m last year as the two big earthquakes cost the group £203.6m. The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico also proved expensive.It's too early to tell what kind of hit the firm will take from the latest quake in New Zealand where more than 200 have died."It will take a period of time before the full financial effect of the Christchurch damage can be assessed," Amlin said Wednesday. Chief executive Charles Philipps said a return on equity of 13.9% in 2010, down from 37% in 2009, but above the current estimated cost of capital of 8%, was "highly creditable"."We remain confident of being able to trade successfully through the trough of the insurance trading cycle and to continue to generate attractive returns for our shareholders".A final dividend of 15.8p a share makes a total dividend of 23p, up 15% on 2009.