Guinea Insurance Plc has injected additional capital to boost its underwriting business and return the company to the path of greater performance and higher profitability.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the insurance firm, Ademola Abidogun, stated this at its 64th Annual General Meeting (AGM) y in Lagos and urged the company’s shareholders to see the positive aspects of the upcoming changes.
“With the injection of additional capital, our company is now well positioned to attract and transact larger portions of new businesses.
“It is undeniable that today’s consumers are shifting and favouring simplicity more than ever before and as a result, our investment roadmap in technology and digital transformation is motivated by the need to give customers the freedom to buy reliable insurance products without any geographical restrictions,” he said.
He added that the company had made efforts to keep management costs at the minimum, obtain regulatory approval for the underwriting agricultural insurance and reduced operating expenses.
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ugochukwu Godson, presided over the AGM for ordinary and special business, obtain necessary shareholder approvals and as part of the ordinary business, present the audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021 along with the reports of the directors and auditors to the company’s shareholders.
He reaffirmed the board and management’s commitment to strategically and effectively position the company as an investor’s delight, while propelling it to profitable heights for the financial well-being of its shareholders.
Godson stated that the company was already on the path to better performance and profitability, as additional funds had been injected to strengthen its financial base and increase its capacity for transacting large-scale business deals.
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While presenting the operating results for the year under review, he said in spite of the many difficulties and operational challenges encountered in the year, the company weathered the storm and continued on the path of growth. Gross Premium Written was N1.35 billion, representing a 24.8 per cent increase over the N1.08 billion recorded in 2020.
Gross Premium Income rose from N1.05 billion to N1.34 billion in 2021, representing a 27.4 percent increase. The Net Claims Expenses in 2021 was N0.48 billion, which is a 69.1 per cent improvement over the N1.55 billion recorded in 2020.
“This was due to efficient claims management. The company did record a loss before tax of N60 million. This is as against N225 million recorded in 2020, representing over 73.3 percent decrease. Loss after tax also stood at N23 million, representing a significant drop of 89.9 per cent decrease compared with the N228 million recorded in 2020,” he stated.
The shareholders approved the re-election of Godson Ugochukwu, Alhaji Hassan Dantata and Simon Bolaji as directors and to increase Guinea Insurance’s issued and allotted share capital to 7,942,800,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each, effective August 16, 2022.
Speaking, Chairman of the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), Boniface Okezie, noted that insurance relies on trust and the timely payment of claims and commended the company for its efforts as well as for showing accountability, responsiveness and commitment to the welfare of policyholders at all times.
Okezie, who recommended deliberate and purposeful actions toward taking the company to greater heights, expressed concern over the numerous mitigating factors impeding the projected upward mobility of the company to profitability.
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