L-R: Ademola Abidogun, MD/CEO, Godson Ugochukwu, Chairman Board of Directors, Chinenye Nwankwo, Company Secretary. |
Guinea Insurance PLC held its 64th Annual General Meeting (AGM) recently in Lagos. The hybrid meeting had a group of in-person participants connecting with remote participants to afford all stakeholders the same participatory rights as with a physical meeting.
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Ugochukwu Godson,
presided over the meeting to conduct both ordinary and special business, obtain
necessary shareholder approvals, and, as part of the ordinary business, present
the audited financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2021, along
with the reports of the directors and auditors, to shareholders.
He addressed the shareholders and reaffirmed the board’s and
management’s commitment to strategically and effectively position the company
as an investor’s delight while also propelling it to a profitable height for
the financial well-being of its shareholders.
Speaking on behalf of the shareholders, Boniface Okezie,
Chairman of the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, noted that
insurance relies on trust and the timely payment of claims. He praised the
company for its efforts in this area as well as for maintaining its customary
attitude of accountability, responsiveness, and commitment to the welfare of
policyholders at all times. He recommended deliberate and purposeful actions
toward taking the company to glorious times but expressed concerns over the
numerous mitigating factors impeding the projected upward mobility of the
company to profitability.
Godson expressed his opinion in this regard, stating that
the company was already on the comeback trail to profitability as funds had
been injected to strengthen its financial base and increase its capacity for
transacting large-scale business deals.
In addition, Guinea Insurance’s Managing Director, and Chief
Executive Officer, Ademola Abidogun, in his remark, urged the company’s
shareholders to see the positive aspects of the upcoming changes. “With the
injection of additional capital,” he asserted, “our company is now well
positioned to attract and transact larger portions of new businesses.” It is
undeniable that consumers today are shifting and favoring simplicity more than
ever before; as a result, our investment roadmap in technology and digital
transformation is motivated by the need to give customers the freedom to
purchase reliable insurance products without any geographical restrictions. He
continued by saying that the company had made an effort to keep management
costs to a minimum, obtain regulatory approval for the underwriting of
agricultural insurance, and reduced operating expenses.
While presenting the operating results for the year under
review, the Chairman moved that despite the many difficulties and operational
challenges encountered throughout the year, the company was able to weather the
storm and continue on the path of growth. Gross Premium Written (GPW) was
N1.35billion, representing a 24.8% increase over the N1.08billion recorded in
2020. While Gross Premium Income (GPI) rose from N1.05billion to N1.34billion
in 2021 representing a 27.4% increase. The Net Claims Expenses in 2021 was
N0.48billion which is a 69.1% improvement over the sum of N1.55billion recorded
in 2020. This was due to efficient claims management. The company did record a
Loss Before Tax of N60million. This is as against N225million recorded in year
2020 representing over 73.3% decrease. Loss After Tax also stood at N23million,
representing a significant drop of 89.9% decrease when compared with the sum of
N228million recorded in 2020.
In conclusion, the company’s shareholders overwhelmingly
agreed to the company’s prayers and approved the re-election of the following
directors: Godson Ugochukwu, Alhaji Hassan Dantata, and Simon Bolaji. In a
similar spirit, the shareholders agreed to increase Guinea Insurance’s issued
and allocated share capital to 7,942,800,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,
effective as of August 16, 2022.
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