Sovereign Trust Grosses N10.5bn GPW in 2018…Unveils T522
L-R: Ugochi Odemelam, Executive Director, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Yetunde Martins, Company Secretary, (Citipoint Chambers), Oluseun Ajayi, Chairman, Board of Directors, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc and Olaotan Soyinka, Managing Director/CEO, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc at the 24th Annual General Meeting held in Lagos.
Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc has announced that it generated N10.5 billion gross premium written (GPW) from its business operations during the period ended December 31, 2018 just as it unveiled a strategic plans tagged “T522”
The figure is 23 per cent higher than N8.5 billion recorded in the same period in 2017.
The company’s net premium income equally appreciated by 31 per cent to N5.5 billion over the sum of N3.85 billion recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The company, in the same vein, recorded a profit before tax of N540 million as against N202 million recorded in 2017 representing over 167 per cent increase, while profit after tax also stood at N344 million or 118 per cent increase when compared with the sum of N158 million recorded in 2017.
Speaking today at the company’s 24th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, the Chairman, Board of Directors, Mr. Oluseun Ajayi, said the performance is an indication of the company’s commitment to sustain growth of both revenue and profitability.
He said the Return On Capital Employed (ROCE) recorded a positive performance of 9.29 per cent as against 1.87 per cent achieved in the corresponding period of the previous year while the earnings per share improved by 118 per cent from 1.89 kobo in 2017 to 4.13 kobo in 2018.
Mr. Ajayi said the size and quality of the company’s balance sheet improved by this performance for the year while the firm’s total assets rose from N10.8 billion to N11.3 billion representing five per cent increase.
He said the shareholders’ fund increased by six per cent from N5.5 billion in 2017 to N5.8 billion in 2018, noting that in all, the company recorded a modest financial performance in the year under review.
He said despite the challenging business environment in 2018, the company returned to achieving steady revenue growth and continue on the path of profitability.
According to him, “The increasing competition in our industry has consistently re-engineered our strategies and we will not rest on our oars. Our commitment to continuously take leadership in all our product lines remains unperturbed….
“Our dear company has continued to affirm its commitment and capacity to honour all genuine claims as and when due. The company, in the past year settled claims totaling N4.2 billion to various insured spread across the country.
Going forward, the Chairman said the mandate to scale up the company’s capital base is already at an advanced stage.
“Our programme for recapitalization is already on course with ongoing issuance of Rights to existing shareholders of the company,” he said.
He said with the schedule, the company will be issuing a total of 4,170,411,648 ordinary shares to its esteemed shareholders which he said is expected to be finalized by the third quarter of this year, adding that other capital raising options as advised by the company’s financial advisor will be considered in the course of the year to ensure the company is set on a very solid and competitive platform in the industry.
Ajayi urged shareholders to support the Right Issue programme to succeed.
He expressed optimism that the new minimum wage bill recently passed and accented to by the Federal Government will to a great extent increase demand and supplies in the economy, adding that “insurance service is expected to benefit by the law in terms of premium generation as disposable income improves.”
The Chairman said in the course of the year, the company will introduce affordable and bespoke products expected to deepen its retail and product lines.
“Our company is well abreast of the happenings in the economy as well as the industry and has proactively followed up on its plan to ensure its target to be amongst the top five by year 2022 is achieved. This programme is tagged T522.
“We believe that the changes in our business environment present uncommon opportunities for operators. We shall continue to deploy several initiatives and strategies to address any industry challenges while harnessing the inherent opportunities,” Mr. Ajayi assured.
