WAPIC Insurance Plc. (the group), a multi-line insurance company with headquarters in Nigeria has released its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended 30th September, 2019, growing the profit before tax by 129 percent. The figure rose from N475 million during the period in 2018 to N1.1 billion during the review period.
The Group continued on its growth trajectory within the period with a 26 percent year on year (YoY) increase in gross written premiums for the period. This was driven by its sustained leadership status in some major accounts, attainment of increased market share and enhanced underwriting capabilities, the company said.
The Group’s underwriting profit grew to N2.45 billion, a commendable 78 percent year on year growth from the N1.38 billion recorded in the preceding period of 2018. The growth in premiums and decrease in net claims expense during the review period had a positive impact on this position.
According to the company, the cost optimisation measures put in place continued to pay off as operating expenses dropped by 8 percent to N3.2 billion year on year, compared to the prior period’s position of N3.5 billion.
There was a notable growth in profit before tax for the period at 129 percent to close at N1.1 billion compared to the N475 million in the same period of 2018, while the profit after tax sustained the trend, moving from N287.3 million to close at N972.9 million.
Commenting on the results at the Company’s headquarters in Lagos, Yinka Adekoya, managing director, WAPIC Insurance Plc said, “Our Group delivered a strong financial performance within the nine months of 2019 despite a challenging macroeconomic and business landscape.”
Adekoya said the results, which is largely in line with our growth expectations and strategic aspirations for the year, further reinforces the company’s sustainable business model and brand promise to deliver more to all stakeholders as we work to realise the expected year on year performance.
She also said, “The effective execution of our strategies ensured strong top-line figures of ₦12.7 billion, a 26 percent growth from the previous year, on the back of sustained leadership status in some major accounts, attainment of increased share of wallet and enhanced underwriting capabilities.”
According to her the underwriting profit recorded a 78 percent growth year on year to N2.45 billion, driven largely by a 45 percent y/y growth in fees and commission income and a 29 percent y/y reduction in net claims expenses during the period. “This positively influenced our profit before tax position, which grew at an impressive rate of 129 percent to N1.1bn when compared to N475 million reported in Sept 2018.
The group total assets stood at N32.59 billion as against N30.36 billion, a percent increase 7.35 percent.
“Going into the last quarter of the year, we will continue to deepen our insurance services into the commercial and SME space, thereby, further diversifying our market share and earnings base. We will also further consolidate our retail momentum and drive for leadership status within the large corporate space, Adekoya stated.
Modestus Anaesoronye
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