Admiral results solid not flashy says top boss
CAR insurer Admiral has announced good results for 2013 with overall profits up 7 per cent despite an 8 per cent fall in group turnover.
Profit before tax in 2013 was £370m compared to £345m the year before, while earnings per share were up at 104.6 pence, a 10 per cent increase. Group chief executive Henry Engelhardt said the results are like comfort food. “2013 was the year of the baked potato. It was a good, solid year, something on the plate that is appreciated but doesn’t really grab the spotlight.
He said that results were “solid, but not flashy,” adding: “We made more money than ever before, we grew customer numbers a little bit, we launched one new overseas business, but there was no growth surge, there were no claims shocks; we just went about our business.”
The strong results are the latest in an upward trend among motor insurers, who have been making healthy returns despite concerns about whiplash injury claims. Tom Jones, head of policy and public affairs at Thompsons Solicitors, said the results represent “a deafening silence about any good news for individual policy holders.”