Niger Insurance Plc, a Nigeria insurer, ended last year impressively as its audited financial statement showed gross premium income (NPI) spike by 18.69 percent to N9.65 billion from N8.13 billion the preceding year.
The growth in NPI was fuelled by efficient underwriting capacities and also a write back of N204.11 million in the review period from a charge of N1.62 billion in the preceding year.
For the year ended December 2013, Niger Insurance’s gross premium written increased slightly by 1.06 percent to N10.44 billion from N10.33 billion the same period of the corresponding year (FY) 2012.
The bottom-line growth was crimped by huge cost as profit before tax (PBT) increased slightly by a mere 1.79 percent to N716.10 million in FY13 from N703.5 million in the preceding year.
Niger Insurance has launched a market penetrating product known as ‘Niger cash plan’ to encourage people to make savings for future benefits and for stability of the Nigeria families.
The product is a policy designed to provide the holder with income in the form of cash payments at regular intervals, as well as cash benefits for the protection of the holder and/or the family in the natural course of events such as disability, death and accidental death.
Underwriting and management expenses were up by 19.36 percent to N10.23 billion in FY13 from N8.57 billion as of (FY) 2012. This highlights the need for the Insurer to reduce costs.
Niger Insurance total assets appreciated reasonably by 8.12 percent to N24.75 billion in the period under review compared with N22.89 billion as at FY 2013.
Return on average equity (ROaE) was 8.07 percent in the review period, while the return on average assets (ROaA) stood at 2.63 percent.
Established Yorkshire Insurance Company Limited in 1962, Niger Insurance a composite insurance company quoted on the floor of Nigerian Stock Exchange. It ranks amongst the first generation insurance companies standing on a very strong financial base, with assets in excess of N15 billion.
The company’s share price closed at N0.50 – July 10, 2014, on the floor of the Nigeria stock exchange, while market capitalisation was N3.86 billion.
BALA AUGIE
