Comment from Henry Engelhardt, Group Chief Executive Officer
"I would describe 2015 as: the year of the uncut diamond. When the year started many people thought it would turn out to be a lump of coal. But no, 2015 was no lumpy coal year.
"A lot of good things happened in 2015. The work we did on the UK business in terms of rate increases ahead of the market and the continued attention to operational detail amongst other things, all led to an excellent economic outcome. Following on from the success last year of our Italian business, ConTe, which made another small profit in 2015, the break-even result (underwriting year basis) in Admiral Seguros, our Spanish operation, was also a great achievement."
Dividend
The Directors have proposed a final dividend of 63.4 pence, representing a normal dividend of 33.6 pence per share and a special dividend of 29.8 pence per share. The special dividend of 29.8 pence per share includes 11.9 pence per share, reflecting the first element of a phased return of surplus capital given the Group's Solvency II capital position. The final dividend will be paid on 3 June 2016. The ex-dividend date is 12 May 2016 and the record date is 13 May 2016.
