Car insurance to loans group Admiral had posted a rise in profits and revenues buoyed by a strong performance in the UK vehicle insurance marketplace.
The FTSE 100 firm, headquartered in Cardiff and which employs more than 7,500 across South Wales, has post pre-tax profits for 2021 of £769m, up 26% on 2020. Revenues were up 4% to £3.51bn.
Trading was boosted by a strong performance in the UK car insurance marketplace where during the year it added a further 500,000 customers.
The year also saw Admiral, which also has a loans and household insurance offer in the UK, completing the sale of its global price comparison businesses, including Cardiff-based Confused.com, for £508m to RVU.
On the back of the results some 10,000 Admiral staff globally will receive free shares with a value of up to £3,600.
Its international car insurance businesses, which include those in mainland Europe and the US, saw combined turnover rising 6% to £690m. However, they posted an aggregate loss of £11.6m, fuelled by a deterioration of its US venture Elephant Auto, which operates in eight states. Admiral said that competition in the US remains strong with large players increasing investment in advertising which has led to high acquisition costs.
Its chief executive Milena Mondini de Focatiis, said: “Once again, we have delivered excellent service for a larger number of customers and a strong set of results, due to unusual market conditions, Admiral’s underwriting discipline and a focus on doing the common, uncommonly well.
"In 2021 we improved in all of our key metrics, including exceeding eight million customers, increasing customer loyalty and recording exceptional profits of £769m.
“The strong performance of UK motor insurance is the key driver of our results. We also continued to expand our customer proposition. In 2021 alone, beyond UK Motor we added more than half a million customers, now representing around 40% of total group customers.
"We grew by double digits in both our UK household and International businesses, despite challenging market conditions abroad, and our Loans stock balance is now larger than pre-Covid levels. We are pleased to see the results of our ability to export some of our competitive advantages to these new businesses and we are also planting seeds for further diversification in the longer term through Admiral Pioneer, for example with small business insurance.
"Our aim is to help more customers than ever to look after their future, and to do this better every day. We are also keen to contribute to secure the future of our communities by substantially increasing our investment and committing to net zero by 2040 at the latest.”
Admiral has moved to a hybrid working model, which will see it vacating smaller offices in Cardiff and Admiral House in Newport. It has appointed property advisory consultant to Huw Thomas to market the space, that extends to around 150,000 sq ft, to either assign the leases to new occupiers or sublet.
It is though maintaining its Cardiff HQ, Ty Admiral.
It has pledged to have net zero emissions by 2040 and has provided £6m to good causes globally over the past two years.
