Direct Line unveils £100m buyback and ups dividend
Direct Line Insurance Group
253.80p
12:40 24/12/24
0.55%
1.40p
Direct Line announced a £100m share buyback and increased its final dividend as the insurance group posted an increase in annual operating profit.
FTSE 250
20,571.51
13:00 24/12/24
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n/a
FTSE 350
4,491.87
12:54 24/12/24
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FTSE All-Share
4,449.61
13:14 24/12/24
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Insurance (non-life)
3,934.09
12:54 24/12/24
-0.01%
-0.47
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."