The Managing Director of Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Mr. Wale Onaolapo has said that the company was reinforcing for a better return on investment.
Onaolapo who disclosed this to newsmen in Lagos recently, said the current performance of the company was a confirmation of the management’s determination to effectively and strategically position the company as one of the leading insurance companies in the country, while at the same time propeling the company to a profitable height for shareholders’ delight.
He said the positive trend recorded by the company in 2010 played out in the first quarter as the Gross Premium written stood at N2.44 billion, a performance which represents 47 per cent increment over the N1.67 billion that was written in the corresponding period of the year 2010.
Onaolapo noted that the net premium earned for the period under review also stood at N1.66 billion which represents a 41 per cent growth rate over the sum of N1.17 billion recorded in the same period of last year.
The managing director noted that it was quite interesting that the company recorded a marked shift of positive result as at the year end of December 31, 2010, when compared to the previous financial year of 2009.
“The Gross Premium written in 2010 stood at N4.7billion as against N4.4billion written in 2009, representing a 7.23 per cent increase. Another outstanding highlight of the 2010 accounts was the meteoric rise in profit after tax from N4.1million in 2009 to N308million in 2010, representing 7,256.97 per cent increase while profit before tax in 2009 stood at N13million and grew to N415million in 2010.
As the company grew its balance sheet in 2010, so did it also honour claims commensurate to the size of business it generated in the year under consideration. In 2009, a total of N571million was paid as claims while the figure rose to N870million in 2010,” he said.
Onaolapo noted that there were very obvious signs that the performance could be sustained during the remaining quarters of the year, adding that the management of the company was really committed to meeting and surpassing the target set for 2011 as they had all agreed to take an uncompromising stance on ensuring that shareholders of the company got exceptional value for their investment in the years ahead.
He said that the stage had been set for the company to host the 16th edition of the company’s Annual General Meeting following the approval of its 2010 annual reports and accounts by the National Insurance Commission, (NAICOM), the regulatory body for the insurance industry in Nigeria.
He said this year’s edition of the Annual General Meeting will be a rewarding experience for the shareholders to look forward to, as the company intends to declare a dividend of 3 kobo per share.
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