Mr. Obinna Ekezie, the Chairman of CHI Plc said at the 24th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company that the group also recorded a Gross Premium Written of N6.8 billion, a rise of 20.85 percent from 2017 while Profit After Tax grew from N 406 million in 2017 to N407 million in 2018.
Commenting on the result, Mr. Eddie Efekoha, the Managing Director/CEO of CHI Plc said: “The result of our performance in 2018 is an improvement on the growth projections for the industry.
Business retention remains good, even as we have further energized our Retail and Agency segments to grow new business inflow into the group. The retail segments achieved a combined growth of 135% in 2018 on their 2017 performance. This is a testament on our last year review where we reported progress being made in the deepening of our footprints in the retail market segments. CHI’s revenue diversification drive was a major factor that aided the sustained financial performance through the challenging market conditions of 2018, further reinforcing its role as a formidable player in the insurance industry.”
Efekoha said the company has continued to fulfil its claims payment obligations to customers promptly amidst rising claims in the industry, with N4, 787, 135, 023 spent on claims settlement in 2018 when compared with the N3, 354, 056, 803 of 2017.
“The 42.72 percent increase, though significant, is a reduction of the 93 percent growth in 2017 claims expenses over that of 2016. The increase in the figure for 2018 is attributable largely to a few large one-offs with a single payment on a marine hull loss amounting to N2, 174, 399, 976. Significant recoveries on overall claims expenses amounting to N2, 983, 861, 126 were however made from our robust reinsurance arrangement.”
On the looming recapitalisation in the insurance industry, the CHI CEO told shareholders: “Your company has remained proactive in ensuring a solid capital base, leveraging on your approval for additional capital in 2017 to successfully raise through a Private Placement, the sum of N734.5 million through an additional 1,130,000,000 units of ordinary shares at N0.65 per share. This has since increased the issued shares of our company to 8,130,000,000 from 7,000,000,000 units.
Our capacity to undertake larger and more technical transactions has been greatly enhanced with the recent injection of additional capital through funds generated from a combination of the Rights Issue and Private Placement. The equity stake of N734, 500, 000 by Niger Delta Exploration and Production Plc (16% stake) is a testament to the confidence reposed in us and the great opportunity ahead of us.”
On the future outlook, Efekoha painted a rosy picture for the company: “Our commitment remains unwaveringtowards evolving into a leading provider of insurance and other financial services in Nigeria.
The implementation of our Five-Year Corporate Strategy Plan has continued with increased vigour, following the setting up of a full-fledged Strategy function. Our internal processes are being reviewed to achieve operational efficiency and eliminate lapses; while our technical operations have been restructured into a Strategic Business Unit (SBU) model to drive greater efficiency.
Our technology space is also being up-scaled with more premium placed on revamping alternative and E-commerce channels to drive brand awareness, product distribution and in effect, revenue growth. We are developing products to address the emerging risks in the society that require insurance protection.
For us at Consolidated Hallmark, it has been 12 years of determination to continually improve on our records of performance. It is heart-warming to note that there has been incremental progress, Year-on-Year in overall company performance during this period of stewardship.”
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