AXA Mansard Insurance Plc said its ploughing back the profitability it achieved in 2018 financial year as part of the strategy to strengthen capacity for bigger businesses, while also being proactive against any development in the industry.
The company’s shareholders who spoke at its Annual General Meeting in Lagos applauded the decision of the company, said they have always known AXA Mansard as a dividend paying company, and believe that that future is brighter.
AXA Mansard in the financial year ended 31 December 2018 recorded a 26 percent increase in gross premium written, moving from N26.83 billion in 2017 to N33.92 billion.
Its profit before tax was N3.38 billion as against N3.23 billion in 2017, indicating a 5 percent increase; while the profit after tax dropped by 7 percent to N2.48 billion as against N2.68 billion the previous year.
AXA Mansard saw an 11 percent leap in total assets, moving from N66.57 billion in 2017 to N73.77 billion in the review year, while similar trend also played out in shareholders fund, which rose by 3 percent to close N20.90 billion at the end of 2018.
Olusola Adeeyo, chairman of the Company who reviewed the global economy as well as the Nigerian economic landscape post general elections said “Understanding these trends and planning to mitigate the inherent risks is key to the future success of our business.”
Adeeyo said AXA Mansard is a proactive company and our team is primed to mitigate likely risks and harness opportunities for the ultimate benefit of our shareholders.
“We expect to see policy decision and developments in response to these realities at the Industry, State and Federal level and these will continue to impact the business environment we operate in”.
He expressed optimism that the company will continue to forge ahead towards its goal of positioning its self as a clear leader in the non-bank financial services sector of the Nigerian economy.`
Kunle Ahmed, chief executive officer of the company responding to questions from shareholders said rather than recommending dividend now, the company was strengthening its capacity to enable it deliver greater value in the future.
Ahmed further stated that rather than come back to the shareholders to raise fresh funds, we have ploughed back the profit we made to enable us build the needed capacity that will make the company strong and competitive for bigger risks.
Going into the future, Ahmed said “as we journey into the future of possibilities, with new markets, new customer needs and new and efficient business processes and solutions, we believe that we are in good position to take advantage of these opportunities”.
“We have been proactive in putting key initiatives in place and with the investment of resources in these initiatives and the proven capacity of our people to execute innovatively, our outlook for the future is positive, he said.
Modestus Anaesoronye
