Trading results
- Group operating profit £312m up 20% (H1 2015: £259m): Scandinavia £131m; Canada £69m; UK £144m.
- Record H1 Group underwriting profit of £174m, up 72% (H1 2015: £101m). Core Group combined ratio of 94.3% (H1 2015: 96.4%). Scandinavia 88.5%; Canada 94.5%; and the UK 94.4%.
- Record H1 Group current year underwriting profit of £119m (H1 2015: £73m); Core Group current year attritional loss ratio 3.1pts better than last year.
- Weather and large losses £59m worse than planned and £49m worse than H1 2015; net claims cost of £39m for the Alberta wildfire and £35m for UK and European floods in June.
- Prior year underwriting profit of £55m (H1 2015: £28m), driven by Canada and the UK in particular.
- Ireland returned to operating profit (£3m vs £11m loss in H1 2015).
- Core Group premiums flat on an underlying basis; up 3% headline.
- Investment income of £187m (H1 2015: £206m).
- Net gains include £169m tangible gains mainly from disposals completed in the year, offset by £188m intangible charges, as previously flagged. Reorganisation costs of £70m.
- Post tax profit of £91m (H1 2015: £215m benefited from disposal gains).
- Solvency II coverage ratio of 158% (31 December 2015: 143%), towards upper end of our target range of 130-160%; now includes the full benefit of the completed Latin America disposals and pension de-risk.
- Tangible equity £3.3bn (31 December 2015: £2.8bn), 326p per share; increase driven by profits, positive mark-to-market and foreign exchange.
- Underlying return on opening tangible equity of 12.8% annualised (H1 2015: 9.7%).
- Underlying earnings per share (EPS) 17.8p (H1 2015: 13.8p).
- Interim dividend of 5.0p / ordinary share (H1 2015: 3.5p).
