Admiral Group reported a 16% rise in pre-tax profit to £957.9 million for 2025, with its UK motor business surpassing £1 billion in profit for the first time as the insurer's results highlighted return on equity of 53% – several times the level of most European peers.
The results cap a fifth consecutive year of growth for the Cardiff-based insurer. Earnings per share rose 16% to 247.4p, insurance revenue climbed 9% to £4.98 billion, and total customer risks grew 7% to 11.8 million.
The headline ROE of 53%, though down from 56% in 2024, still dwarfs that of rivals. Aviva, which reported on the same day, posted return on equity of 17.5%. Fitch Ratings had noted earlier that Admiral's ROE "improved sharply to 56% at end-2024," partly aided by the Ogden discount rate change.
The dip to 53% appears driven by higher dividend payouts and a growing capital requirement, with Admiral's interim report attributing it to "continued growth in own funds but at a lower rate" owing to larger dividends and softer written profits from the core UK motor book.
The post-dividend solvency ratio fell 10 percentage points to 193%. Admiral had previously flagged a reduction of around 11 points tied to the de-recognition of intangible assets from the More Than deal under Solvency II rules.
Group chief executive Milena Mondini de Focatiis described 2025 as "an exceptional year," noting that UK motor surpassed £1 billion of profit while other personal lines, Admiral Money, and European operations collectively generated close to £100 million.
Admiral said it completed the More Than integration and established a GenAI Centre of Excellence aimed at moving "from experimentation to scale." In early 2026, the group announced plans to acquire Flock, a telemetry-based digital fleet insurer.
Industry rankings showed Admiral Group climbing from seventh to fifth among UK insurers, buoyed by profit growth and the More Than acquisition. Direct Line, previously third, will disappear from the list following its absorption into Aviva.
Sentiment remains divided. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan had both previously downgraded Admiral Group – to Sell and Underweight respectively – while Deutsche Bank raised its price target to 3,550p.
The concern, as one analysis framed it, is that the UK motor insurance market "is softening at an alarming pace," with premiums falling 1.7% in May 2025.
The board proposed a final dividend of 90.0p per share, comprising a normal dividend of 72.8p and a special dividend of 17.2p.
Total dividends for the year rose 7% to 205.0p. The full-year results also showed more than 13,000 employees set to receive free share awards worth up to £1,800.
