INSURANCE giant Admiral has reported a fall in pre-tax profits from 2013 to 2014.

The big Newport employer made £357 million before tax in 2014, down 4% from £371 million in 2013.

Turnover for the company which has offices in Newport, Swansea and Cardiff, was £1.97 billion in 2014, down 3% on the £2.03 billion figure for 2013.

Henry Engelhardt, Group Chief Executive Officer said: “Admiral Group’s 2014 was the year of the Baked Alaska ‐ hot and cold in a single bite. The hot? Profits emerging from our international insurance businesses, in ConTe in Italy, and record profits at Rastreator and LeLynx, our price comparison businesses in Spain and France, respectively.

"The cold? For the first time since we went public, Admiral Group did not post a record profit, but we still made a lot of money, had an enviable 52% return on equity and distributed 95% of our after‐tax profits to our shareholders.”

The Directors have proposed a final dividend of 49.0 pence (22.5 pence normal and 26.5 pence special) per share, to be paid on 29 May 2015.

Over 7,000 staff each receive free shares worth £3,000 in the employee share scheme based on 2014 full year results.