Direct Line unveils £100m buyback and ups dividend

Direct Line announced a £100m share buyback and increased its final dividend as the insurance group posted an increase in annual operating profit.

Operating profit for the year to the end of December rose 11.4% to £581.8m as gross written premiums dipped 0.3% to £3.17bn.

The FTSE 250 group said it would buy back £100m of its own shares and increased its final dividend by 2.7% to 15.1p a share.

Pretax profit fell by £5.4m to £446m because of £62m of restructuring and one-off costs including the purchase of its office in Bromley, south London.

Penny James, chief executive of Direct Line, said: "I am delighted by the group's strong performance and proud of the way we have navigated the complexities of a challenging market."