ii view: insurer Admiral Group breaks records
Growing customer numbers by 7% to 11.8 million and with the shares sat on an attractive dividend yield. Buy, sell, or hold?
5th March 2026 16:15
by Keith Bowman from interactive investor
A close-up of an Admiral sign at the insurer’s offices in Cardiff, Wales. Photo: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images.
Full-year results to 31 December
- Turnover down 1% to £5.9 billion
- Earnings up 16% to 247p per share
- Final dividend of 90p per share
- Solvency ratio or capital cushion down 10% from a year ago to 193%
Chief executive Milena Mondini de Focatiis said: “2025 was an exceptional year for Admiral, reflecting the strength of our business model, our discipline and the quality of execution across the group.
“As we refresh our strategy, our focus is on compounding Admiral’s strengths in data, technology, diversified products and operational excellence to drive greater efficiency, stronger customer retention and long‑term value creation, particularly through multi‑product relationships.”
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ii round-up:
Insurer Admiral Group (LSE:ADM) today detailed record profits exceeding City forecasts with the beat driven by improvements for European motoring, UK home insurance and Admiral money or lending services.
Full-year earnings from continuing operations climbed 16% from a year ago to 247p per share. Analysts had forecast an outcome of 238p per share. Admiral flagged its testing of insurance for autonomous vehicles and via its partnership with vehicle technology company Wayve.
Shares in the FTSE 100 company rose 3% in UK trading having come into these latest results up by a fifth during 2025. That’s similar to the gain for the FTSE index last year. Shares in fellow motoring insurer Aviva (LSE:AV.) and acquirer of Direct Line, rose by almost half during 2025.
Admiral serves nearly 12 million customers across the UK, France, Italy and Spain. Profits for its core UK motoring insurance business soared 69% to just over £1 billion for the first time ever.
The European motoring business returned to a profit of £7 million, while UK non-motoring profits, including home insurance, climbed 40% to £62 million. Savings-related profits doubled to £26 million.
Alongside the results, Admiral also outlined a change in its shareholder returns policy. From mid-2026, historically paid special dividends will be paid either via share buybacks or a special dividend.
An declared final dividend payment of 90p per share (72.8p per share ordinary and 17.2p per share special dividend) is due to be paid to eligible shareholders on 5 June.
The insurer’s AGM is likely in take place in early to mid-May with first-half results scheduled for 6 August.
ii view:
Headquartered in Cardiff, Admiral employs more than 13,000 people. Group brands include Admiral in the UK, Conte in Italy and Balumba in Spain. Over the past few years, the insurer completed its first significant acquisition, acquiring direct household and pet insurance renewal rights of the ‘More Than’ brand, as well as transferring staff from then-owner Royal Sun Alliance.
For investors, the many factors feeding into insurance claims, including the weather and even climate change, cannot be forgotten. The group’s capital cushion or solvency ratio, although robust, is down 10% to 193%. Acquisitions such as that for some of the ‘More Than’ business are not without risk, while competitors across the industry are not standing still.
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On the upside, Admiral has historically proven agile in its product offering with annual 2025 profits hitting a new record. The recent acquisition of Flock, a telemetry-based digital fleet insurer, builds on its expertise in data and technology. A diversity of business types includes a growing loans book, while shareholder returns total £3.2 billion since the start of 2020.
In all, and despite ongoing risks, an estimated future dividend yield of over 5% will likely keep income-oriented investors at least firmly supportive.
Positives:
- Diversity of both product and geographical location
- Attractive dividend yield (not guaranteed)
Negatives:
- Events outside management’s control such as the weather can impact
- Tough economic backdrop
The average rating of stock market analysts:
Strong hold
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