Royal and Sun Alliance has posted an operating result of £698m for 2005. This represents an increase of 171% on the previous year's result of £258m.
The group's overall pre-tax profit increased from £38m to £856m, and its profit after tax was £605m, compared with an £80m loss in 2004. R&SA's premium income increased by 6%, to £5.4bn.
R&SA's chief executive, Andy Haste, said: “The Core Group (non-US operations) has performed strongly and we have made further progress in derisking the US. We are delivering against our strategic objectives and I am confident that with our focus on operational excellence, execution and the strength of our operations we will continue to deliver sustainable profitable performance.”
Haste expects the Core Group to achieve a combined operating ratio of 95% in 2006. R&SA's COR improved by 2% to 94.1% in 2005.
In the US, the company's focus is on reducing risk and driving down claims and expenses.
The group has delivered a final dividend of 3.05p per share, making a total dividend of 4.74p for the year.
Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
