Insurer Beazley has said shareholders will reap the rewards of a strong 2023 as it aims to put $300m (£236.7m) into their pockets.
The move has pushed the firm’s share price up 8.8 per cent on market open.
In a stock exchange notice, the blue-chip insurer said its undiscounted combined ratio, a measure of profitability used by insurers, had surpassed its forecasts in 2023.
Therefore, it has updated its guidance on the ratio to be in the low 80s, rather than mid-70s as previously projected, which the firm credited to “better than expected claims experience during the year”.
A ratio of below 100 per cent indicates underwriting profitability while anything above 100 per indicates losses from underwriting.
Therefore, Beazley said as well as an ordinary dividend, it would be issuing an additional capital return to shareholders for around $300m.
The company will announce its year-end results on 7 March when the quantum and method of additional return will be confirmed.
Last month, the firm came at risk of being eliminated from the FTSE 100 as its stock price sank in the middle of January but has since steadily climbed up to spot number 96.
Yesterday, the firm announced it would be launching a cyber-risk management company, pushing up shares by around two per cent.
It said it had merged its in-house cyber services team with a subsidiary, cyber security firm Lodestone, creating Beazley Security.
This new firm will combine Beazley’s risk management services with the cyber security services provided by Lodestone, with Alton Kizzaiah, the current CEO of Lodestone, taking its lead.