5th Mar 2019 08:59
LONDON (Alliance News) - Direct Line Insurance Group PLC on Tuesday reported a rise in annual profit but saw its written premiums fall due the ending of some partnerships and the patch of bad weather early in 2018 in the UK.
The FTSE100-listed general insurer also announced it will pay a smaller dividend payout for 2018.
In 2018, Direct Line's pretax profit increased 8.1% to GBP582.6 million from GBP539.0 million in 2017. Operating profit decreased 6.4% to GBP601.7 million, behind consensus of GBP656 million.
Direct Line said its pretax profit increased in 2018 on the non-repeat of debt finance costs in 2017. The company's operating profit however was pulled back by a decrease in underwriting profit and a fall in investment return.
Direct Line's total income was broadly flat at GBP3.44 billion.
The insurer's gross written premiums decreased 5.3% to GBP3.21 billion, broadly in line with consensus, from GBP3.39 billion the year before. Direct Line's gross written premiums for its own brands increased 1.8% to GBP2.22 billion.
Direct Line's net earned premiums decreased 1.6% to GBP3.09 billion with net insurance claims increasing 9.1% to GBP1.91 billion.
Direct Line attributed the fall in gross written premiums to exiting its Home Partnerships agreement with J Sainsbury PLC and Nationwide Building Society.
The insurer also noted weather related charges returning to "normal levels" in 2018 following a "benign" 2017.
"I am pleased to announce a strong set of results driven by our resilient business model which performed well in a highly competitive market. We have added a million direct own brand policies since 2014 showing that our customers value our brands, propositions and service," said Chief Executive Paul Geddes.
The insurer's combined operating ratio increased to 91.7% in 2018 from 90.8% in 2017. A combined ratio below 100% still shows Direct Line made a profit from its underwriting. Analysts forecast a combined operating ratio of 92.7%.
Direct Line's underwriting profit in 2018 decreased 11% to GBP255.1 million from GBP288.1 million. The decrease was attributed to GBP75 million in weather-related claims from the "major freeze" in the UK in the first quarter of 2018.
The insurer declared a final dividend of 14.0 pence, up 2.9% on the year before, giving a total dividend for 2018 of 29.3p, down 17% from the 35.4p distributed in 2017. Included in the total dividend is a special dividend of 8.3p, which is down 45% on 2017's special dividend of 15.0p.
Direct Line reiterated its medium-term targets of achieving a combined ratio of 93% to 95%. The company is targeting operating expenses of below GBP700 million in 2019 compared to GBP722.2 million in 2018.
The insurer also reiterated its ongoing target of achieving at least a 15% return on tangible equity. For 2018, the insurer hit 21.5% RoTE.
Direct Line announced Non-Executive Director Clare Thompson will step down from the company at the end of its May 9 annual general meeting.
Shares in Direct Line were down 0.2% Tuesday at 355.40 pence each.
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