Deutsche Bank has described Admiral Group Plc's (LSE:ADM) first-half figures as a “quality performance” after the motor insurer beat expectations on profit, dividends and underwriting.
On Thursday, the insurer said pre-tax profit rose 67% year on year to £516 million, 5% ahead of consensus, helped by stronger results in UK motor, household and loans.
The interim dividend of 115p came in 9% above forecasts, while the reported combined ratio beat expectations by 2.8 percentage points.
UK motor delivered pre-tax profit of £559 million, up 56% on last year and 6% ahead of consensus, benefiting from a better combined ratio and the carry over from a strong 2024 underwriting year.
The first booked loss ratio for undiscounted 2025 was 79%, or 73% on a discounted basis, in line with the first half of last year, but expected to increase by at least a couple of points in the second half.
Deutsche Bank said the stock, which trades on 17 times 2025 forecast earnings, remains a “buy” with a price target of 3,500p.
The shares ended the week 7% higher than they started at 3,592p.