Last checked at 
(Sharecast News) - Car insurer Direct Line lifted its interim dividend and declared a special "catchup" payout to make up for cancelling its 2019 disbursement, as it reported a fall in profits.
Pre-tax profit fell 9.5% to £236.4m after £30.4m of bad weather costs and £15m of one-off restructuring costs. Operating profit slipped 3.4% to £264.9m, the company said on Tuesday.
The interim dividend was increased to 7.4p a share from 7.2p a year ago. A special 14.4p-a-share bonus was declared.
Direct Line maintained estimates for coronavirus costs from the first quarter at £25m on travel insurance and £10m for business insurance.
In-force policies fell 1.7% year on year to 14.6m for the half-year, but the firm's combined operating ratio improved by 2.2 percentage points to 90.3%, with anything below 100% indicating a profit.
"For 2020, we reiterate our target of a combined operating ratio of 93% to 95% normalised for weather and anticipate our restructuring costs of £60 million over 2019 and 2020 will be incurred in full as we strive to maximise the opportunity for operational efficiencies," the company said.
25 Mar 2024 12:09
LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Stocks make tepid start to new week
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were down at midday on Monday, giving back some gains from last week, when equities were boosted by central bank decisions and accompanying statements which investors saw as dovish.
Read more