Shareholders of Sovereign Trust Insurance ( STI) Plc are optimistic that their company will scale through the minimum capital requirement to remain afloat after the 30th June 2020 dedline set by the regulator, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).
The shareholders, who gave their unanimous support to the Company’s ongoing rights issue, said they will take up their rights as part of support to the company.
Seun Ajayi, chairman of Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc said during the Company’s 24th Annual General Meeting in Lagos that the firm’s mandate to scale up capital base is already at an advanced stage, stressing that the program for capitalisation will take off with the issuance of rights to existing shareholders of the company.
According to him, the company is issuing a total of 4.17 billion ordinary shares to its esteemed shareholder
ers, adding that the decision will be finalized by the third quarter of this year.
He called on the shareholders to pick up their rights so as to have a successful program. The shareholders lauded the efforts deployed by the board and management of the firm to keep it afloat, whilst pledging to support the firm in all ramifications.
He also disclosed that said soon, the company will unveil bespoke products to harvest opportunities to be created by the nation’s new minimum wage law.
Ajayi adding stated that the new minimum wage bill recently passed and accented to by the Federal Government will to a great extent increase demand and supply in the economy.
He posited that insurance service is expected to benefit from the law in terms of premium generation as disposable income improves.
According to him, the products which will be affordable will also help deepen the retail end of the firm’s product lines.
“We believe that the change in our business environment present uncommon opportunities for operators. We shall continue to deploy several initiatives and strategies to address any industry challenges while harnessing the inherent opportunities,” he said.
Showcasing the firm’s 2018 financial performance, Ajayi, noted that the company recorded Gross Premium Written (GPW) of N10.5 billion, representing 23 per cent increase over the N8.5 billion recorded in 2017.
Ajayi noted that the net premium income equally grew by 31 per cent to N5.5 billion over N3.85 billion achieved in the previous year. He said the company recorded a profit before tax of N540 million as against N202 million achieved in 2017 representing over 167 per cent increase and profit after tax also stood at N344 million, a 118 per cent increase when compared with N158 million recorded in the previous year.
