British insurer Hastings Group Holdings Plc reported a 5 percent jump in full-year operating profit on Thursday, driven by as it increased customers and market share.
Hastings reiterated, however, that its results included a one-off pre-tax charge of 20 million pounds ($24.55 million) after Britain’s justice ministry this week changed the rate for calculating lump sum payments for personal injury claims. The move is expected to lead to sharp increases in the payouts.
The company, which mainly operates in the UK motor market, said in a statement that operating profit rose to 132.1 million pounds ($162.18 million) for the year ended Dec 31.
Gross written premiums rose by 25 percent to 769 million pounds, with live customer policies rising by 15 percent to 2.35 million.
Hastings said it would pay a final dividend of 6.6 pence per share and total dividend of 9.9 pence. ($1 = 0.8145 pounds)
Sourcing: Reuters