Dealing members of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) were on Friday September 20 notified that Wapic Insurance Plc through its stockbroker, Coronation Securities Limited, submitted an application to the Exchange for the approval and listing of a Rights Issue of 15,613,194,623 ordinary shares of 50kobo each at 38kobo per share.
The Rights Issue will be on the basis of 7 new ordinary shares for every 6 ordinary shares held. The qualification date for the Rights Issue was Thursday September 19, 2019.
The Right Issue is coming at a premium price when compared with 37kobo which it closed on September 19. Though, Wapic Insurance Plc share price had reached a 52-week high of 47kobo and a 52-week low of 33kobo.
Shareholders of Wapic Insurance Plc had ahead of National Insurance Commission’s (NAICOM) June 30, 2020 deadline for firms to comply with its new capital regime, given the company approval to increase its capital base to N15 billion from the current N8.5 billion level.
The insurance company’s unaudited interim financial statements for the half year (H1) period ended June 30, 2019 shows the Group’s gross written premium increased to N8.66billion as against N6.96billion in the corresponding half year period of 2018. Gross Premium income stood higher at N7.88billion in H1’2019 from N5.45billion in H1’2018. However, the group’s underwriting profit printed lower at N1.261billion in H1’19 from N1.32billion in H1’18.
Wapic Insurance Plc together with its subsidiaries (the Group) is a public liability company domiciled in Nigeria with operations in Nigeria and Ghana. In incorporated on March 14, 1958 as a private limited liability Company under the name of West African Provincial Insurance Company Limited, the company became a public limited liability company in 1990 when its shares were listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Iheanyi Nwachukwu
