Good afternoon and welcome to Admiral's 2025 Annual General Meeting. It's now shortly after 12:30 P.M., and the quorum required by Article 58.1 of the Company's Articles of Association, namely the two members personally elected to vote, is met, and I declare the meeting open. This AGM is being live-streamed via the Teams platform and will be being recorded. For the great sense of pride that I stand before you today to reflect on Admiral Group's remarkable achievements over the past year, despite the challenging and uncertain economic landscape, Admiral has demonstrated resilience and strength, achieving an impressive 90% increase in pre-tax profit and a 28% rise in turnover the year ending the 31st of December 2024.
Our unwavering commitment to excellence has enabled us to deliver an impressive service to our customers and is demonstrated by consumers voting Admiral as the winner of the best motor insurance provider for eight years running. We've also been able to deliver a significantly increased dividend to our shareholders, with the year-on-year total dividend per share increase of 86%. This success is a testament to our robust business, strategic agility, and the dedication of our talented employees. Their exceptional contributions have been instrumental in driving our growth and maintaining our position as one of the most competitive insurers in the market. During the year, we welcomed an additional 1.4 million customers to the group, further solidifying our reputation for providing top-tier services and products. Our strong culture has been the cornerstone of our success.
Admiral's commitment to foster a supportive and innovative work environment has been recognized globally, with our MSCI ESG score upgraded to AAA and our inclusion in the world's top 25 best workplaces. We continue to invest in our people and reward their hard work to ensure that they remain motivated and engaged. This year, over 13,000 employees received free share awards worth up to GBP 3,600 and a bonus in recognition of the role they played in the group's excellent performance in 2024. Our focus on diversity, inclusion, and sustainability has not only enhanced our corporate reputation but has also driven our financial performance. As we look ahead, I remain confident in our ability to navigate the complexities of the market, leveraging our strong foundations and the talented team to deliver long-term growth and value for all our stakeholders.
As a board, we would like to thank you for your continued support and trust in the Admiral Group. On the 31st of March, we were sad to announce the retirement of Justine Roberts from the board and from all her committee and Senior Independent Director appointments effective on the 18th of June 2025. Justine has served at this position for nine years as an independent non-executive director of the company. Her contributions have been invaluable, and on behalf of the board and the entire company, I extend our deepest gratitude to Justine for her exceptional service. On a personal note, Justine has been an immense support to me since I assumed the role of Chair of Admiral. Justine will stand for reappointment today, and subject to this vote being successful, will stand down from all her Admiral appointments on the 18th of June.
We wish her all the very best in her future endeavors. Subject to this reappointment today, Andy Crossley will take over the role of Senior Independent Director from Justine effective on the 18th of June. I will not introduce all the members of the board individually, as biographies of the directors can be found towards the back of the AGM notice and in the 2024 Annual Reports and Accounts on pages 101- 106. We do have one of our directors, JP, joining us virtually, so welcome him. Copies of the directors' current service agreements, as well as copies of current letters of appointment, which the non-executive directors are part of, are available for inspection at the rear of this room, together with a copy of the DFSS rules and the current Articles of Association.
The notice convened this meeting was placed on our website together with the company's Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending the 31st of December 2024 and subsequently, after printing, was sent on the 31st of March 2025 to all those shareholders who elected to receive paper copies. Accordingly, the requisite notice of the meeting has been given, and I should like, with your permission, to take the notices as read. This year, we've arranged for the Annual General Meeting to be live-streamed for our shareholders via Microsoft Teams. Shareholders have been invited to log into the AGM to watch and listen to proceedings and ask questions. The Chair of the Remuneration Committee, Karen Green, the Chair of the Audit Committee, Fiona Muldoon, and the Chair of the Risk Committee, Andy Crossley, are present and are available to answer any questions you may have.
Before turning to the main business of the meeting, I would therefore like to dedicate a few minutes to answering any questions that you may have, firstly from shareholders attending the meeting in person, then from any shareholders joining via our live stream. Thank you. There being no questions, we will respond to any questions that have not been answered in writing via our communications team, so we can now move on to the business of the meeting. In accordance with best practice and as stated in the notice of this meeting, I'm exercising the authority contained within the company's Articles of Association to call for a poll to be taken on the resolutions put to the meeting. In the interest of efficiency and with your permission, I will not read each resolution out, but each of them is set out on pages 6-8 in the notice.
Resolutions one to nineteen are proposed as ordinary resolutions. This means that for each of these resolutions to be passed, more than half the votes cast must be in favor of the resolution. Resolutions 20-23 are proposed as special resolutions. For each of these resolutions to be passed, at least three-quarters of the votes cast must be in favor of the resolution. I propose resolutions one to three and 5-23 as set out on pages 6-8 of the notice. As usual, a separate resolution is proposed in respect of the election or re-election of each director. As resolution four concerns my own re-election, I've asked Justine Roberts, our Senior Independent Director, to propose that resolution. Now I hand the chair of the meeting to Justine for that purpose.
Thank you, Mike. I propose the re-election of Mike Rogers as the director of the company as set out in resolution four on page six of the notice. Now I'll hand the chair back to Mike.
Thank you, Justine. Many shareholders have sent in a proxy appointing me to vote on their behalf. I will vote as they have instructed me. If they have given me direct discretion as how to vote, I shall be voting on their behalf in favor of the resolution concerned. I will now put all resolutions to vote by poll. Please indicate on your poll card how you wish to vote. The poll will close ten minutes after the close of the meeting. If you've not yet completed your poll card, please do so now and hand it to the registrar.
The results of the voting at the meeting and the number of proxy votes cast for and against, together with the number of votes actively withheld in respect of each of the resolutions proposed at this meeting, will be announced via a regulatory information service and also placed on the company's website, www.admiralgroup.co.uk, as soon as practical following the close of this meeting. I can now confirm that based on the proxy votes that have been cast prior to the meeting, there are already material majorities in favor of each of the resolutions that have been proposed. Thank you. That now concludes the formal business of the Annual General Meeting. I thank you for your attendance, and I declare the meeting closed.