African Alliance Insurance PLC, has declared a profit before tax of ₦5.67 billion in 2020 compared to a loss of ₦7.04 billion in 2019 representing over 1300 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) increase.
The Chairman, Dr. Anthony Okocha, at the company’s hybrid 52nd Annual General Meeting held in Lagos.
Okocha, whose retirement was later announced at the event, highlighted the many signs of progress of the company in the year under review.
He stated that the company was able to grow its asset base by 29 per cent from over ₦40 billion to ₦56.3 billion.
He said this was a result of substantial capital injection which gave us a boost on our bottom line to the tune of ₦5.67 billion from the 2019 loss position of ₦7.04 billion.
These profits have been immediately assigned as retained earnings to further boost our ongoing quest to revamp our books and grow the overall financial standing of the company, he noted.
He said: “The company paid ₦8.16 billion in claims, a 21 per cent reduction year-on-year on the previous year’s figure of ₦10.4 billion. This was as a result of shrewd underwriting and a vibrant risk selection process which saw us cede strategically to reinsurers.
“The firm’s income from investments dropped also by 19 per cent from ₦3.02 billion to ₦2.46 billion, a direct outcome of the decline in market rates, however, the company’s operating expenses were also reduced by 14 per cent as a precautionary counterbalance to the reduced earnings.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, African Alliance, Joyce Ojemudia, on her part, restated the management’s commitment to optimising costs and growing the market.
“Our main focus next year is to grow our market share substantially. This will be achieved by a massive beef-up of the sales team and the provision of necessary tools to aid marketing activities.
“We will reopen branches in locations we have found promising and enhance our presence in existing locations. Our quest to maintain a physical presence resonates with our integrity drive as insurance is a business of trust, especially amongst the retail market.
“This effort will be supported by digital technology as we adopt a two-prong onslaught on the market.”
She also listed as priorities the renewal of the company’s ISO certification as a business tool to enhance market confidence; staff training and retraining to aid knowledge acquisition; recruitment into key technical areas as well as massive IT upgrades to support the business goals.”
Also, the retirement of Dr. Anthony Okocha, the company’s Board Chairman, effective September 20, 2021, was announced at the meeting.
Sylva Ogwemoh, SAN, a Non-Executive Director of the Company, who chaired the meeting, described the retired chairman as a man who was passionate about the cause of African Alliance Insurance PLC.
