Yemisi Izuora
Shareholders of AIICO Insurance Plc, have authorized the payment of total dividend of N415.81 million declared by the company for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2018.
The dividend translated to six kobo per ordinary share of 50k each. Mr Bukola Oluwadiya, the company’s Chairman, told the shareholders at the 49th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos that it increased the total dividend in 2018 by 20 per cent. Oluwadiya said that the board had decided to move to a progressive dividend policy to deliver superior returns to its shareholders.
“Our plan is to maintain or grow the ordinary dividend per share over time depending on business performance, growth projects and regulatory solvency requirement,” he said. He said that the company during the period under review recorded growth in major business lines. He said that Net Asset Value increased by 39.4 per cent to N15.2 billion from N10.9 billion in the corresponding period of 2017. The chairman stated that total assets rose by 19 per cent to N109 billion against N92 billion in 2017. “We will continue to strengthen our balance sheet and build a strong financial base needed to propel our company to the next phase of growth,” he added. Also speaking, Mr Edwin Igbiti, Managing Director, AIICO Insurance, said that the strategic intent of the company over the next five years was to regain market leadership through rapid and profitable growth.
Igbiti said that the company had redesigned its go-to-market strategy and realigned organisation structure to reflect customer-centric strategy. He said that the company would streamline and leverage capabilities across the Group to grow market share, increase shareholder value and build customer-centric capabilities for superior service delivery.
Mr Sunny Nwosu, Founder, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), lauded the company for the performance and dividend declared during the period under review. Nwosu urged the company to improve on the dividend payout in the years ahead. He said that the company should strengthen strategies to sustain growth to ensure enhanced return.
The company posted profit after tax of N3.1 billion during the period under review.
The profit represented a growth of 146 per cent when compared with N1.3 billion achieved in the comparative period of 2017. The company’s gross written premiums during the review period stood at N37. 7 billion from N32.1 billion posted in the corresponding period of 2017, an increase of 17.4 per cent. The company said that the outstanding performance was predominantly driven by growth in both the Life and Non-life businesses. Shareholders’ equities also increased by 38 per cent to N14.5 billion from N10.5 billion in 2017.