According to Universal Insurance Plc’s chairman, Jasper Osita, the company’s total premium increased to N3.5 billion in the fiscal year 2021.
He claimed that Universal’s performance in 2021 demonstrated the tenacity of all stakeholders in the company’s corporate life in ensuring that the expectation was met at the company’s 52nd annual general meeting in Lagos.
He said, “Your company’s gross premium written was N3.5bn when compared with the N3.4bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2020. Our profit after for the year 2021 stood at N151m as against N130.8m achieved in the previous year of 2020. Our profit before tax also appreciated from N140.6m to N162.2m in the year under review.
“The company also showed further resilience by increasing its assets from N11.3bn to N12.3bn in 2021 while shareholders fund rose to N10bn when compared to N9.8bn in 2020.”
Former President of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Sunny Nwosu, expressed his appreciation to the board and management for growing profits and improving the bottom-line at a time when many other insurers recorded lower profit.
He said, “The result we see today is a testimony that things are changing. I praise the courage of the new chairman of the company for encouraging that things must be done properly in the company.”
Moses Igbrude, the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria’s former publicity secretary, praised the management’s work. He said that despite the challenges of the business environment, the company fared well.
However, he asked the regulators and operators to work together to inform Nigerians about the value of insurance.
In a speech to shareholders, the company’s managing director and chief executive officer, Benedict Ujoatuonu, predicted that 2022 would be a vast improvement over the previous year.
He said “As at the half year 2022, we have done more than what we did in the whole of 2022 despite the current situation of the country. We are hoping very strongly too that the year 2022 will come out better.”
On its subsidiary, he said, “The hotel which is our major subsidiary is working and already contributing to the revenue of the company.”
