Lancashire Holdings declares special dividend after strong year

Lancashire Holdings reported substantial profit growth and strong underwriting results in its final results on Wednesday.

The FTSE 250 company delivered a profit after tax of $321.5m, swinging from a loss of $15.5m a year earlier and resulting in a 24.7% increase in diluted book value per share (DBVS).

That strong financial performance led Lancashire to announce a special dividend of 50 cents per share on top of the final dividend of 15 cents, as the board also approved a 50% increase to the company's ordinary dividend policy.

It recorded a 16.9% increase in gross premiums written to $1.9bn and a 23.9% rise in insurance revenue to $1.5bn.

Lancashire achieved a strong combined undiscounted ratio of 82.6%, or 74.9% on a discounted basis.

Additionally, the investment portfolio delivered a 5.7% return, resulting in a net investment return of $160.5m.

“Lancashire delivered an outstanding performance in 2023," said group chief executive officer Alex Maloney.

“We continued to focus on writing profitable business in the best market conditions we have seen for a decade.

“Our franchise remains strong and we have fantastic teams across the Group who are dedicated to achieving our goals.”

Lancashire said it expected to see sustained growth into 2024, supported by disciplined underwriting in a market characterised by healthy profitability levels.

The company said it was also exploring new opportunities within the US excess and surplus market through its recently-launched Lancashire Insurance US platform.

At 1016 GMT, Lancashire Holdings shares were down 3.57% at 647.5p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.