Admiral's half-year profits up 9% despite bad weather

Admiral's half-year profits have risen as the insurer saw growth in customer numbers, despite the Beast from the East hitting its household arm.

The Cardiff-based group, which owns brands including Confused.com, saw a 9% rise in pre-tax profit to £211m in the six months to June 30.

Admiral's motor insurance division was behind the rise, with profits of £249.5m - up from £224.2m.

Turnover grew 14% to £1.66bn, while customer numbers went up 14% to 6.23m.

Chief executive David Stevens said: "The core UK car insurance business continues to grow both in terms of profit and customer numbers. Early in 2018 we passed the four million mark for cars on cover."

The group also has offices in Swansea and Newport and the results mean about 10,000 staff will each get £1,800 in free shares under Admiral's employee share scheme.

Admiral's UK household division swung to a £1.9m loss versus a £1.6m profit the year before as it was impacted by the Beast from the East.

"The UK experienced two spells of unusually bad weather in the period which have adversely impacted the results of insurers including Admiral," the firm said.

Admiral's international insurance businesses also grew strongly, with customer numbers surpassing the one million mark - 17% higher than a year earlier.

The results come after the firm's rival esure announced earlier this week that it will be taken private through a £1.2 billion takeover by Bain Capital.