L-R: Sheila Ezeuko, Company Secretary; Kenneth Odogwu, Chairman and Alhaji Auwalu Muktari, Group MD/CEO, all of Royal Exchange Plc at the company’s 48th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Kano.

The company with interest in general insurance, life insurance, asset management, healthcare as well as micro finance banking is taking advantage of synergies as a financial conglomerate in its new drive for growth.

This is going to be supported with a new in-road into agric insurance, the country’s new expanding goldmine, having secured approval to underwrite agric-business from the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

Speaking to shareholders at its 48th Annual General Meeting in Kano,  Kenny Ezenwani Odogwu, Chairman, Royal Exchange Plc told shareholders that the future of the company is bright, stating that management has done very well in growing the business and bring stability in her operations

“As always, Royal Exchange stays abreast with many of the initiatives it has put in place to grow its market share and attain market leadership position.”

According to him, the Group is currently streamlining major components of her business, service delivery, processes and operations to deliver superior returns in the short-term to the shareholders.

“This we believe will reposition our great company as not only a major industry player, but as potential game changer, Odogwu assured.

In the financial year ended December 2016, the Group recorded a 16 percent growth in gross written premium from N10.79 billion in 2015 to N12.52 billion in 2016, while total assets of the group witnessed a growth of 19.4 percent, from N26.5 billion in 2015 to N31.67billion as at December 31, 2016.

Alhaji Auwalu Muktari, Group Managing Director, while responding to shareholders questions, stated that Royal Exchange Plc, will strive to pay dividend next year having maximized available growth opportunities, including investment and underwriting during the year.

“For the future that we behold, our goal is to continuously redefine, reinvent and differentiate ourselves in the market place. The focus would be on achieving sustainable growth for our company through deepening of our revenue base, improving service delivery support system and at the same time keeping a lid on our group-wide costs”.

In recognition of the efforts being undertaken to reposition the company, Royal Exchange Plc recently won two awards from BusinessToday Online as the 2016 Insurance Company of the Year while the Group Managing Director, Alhaji Auwalu Muktari was also adjudged the 2016 Insurance Man of the Year.

 

About Royal Exchange Plc

Royal Exchange Plc started operations in 1918 and continues to be driven by innovation and a determination to offer services that are of exceptional value to its customers.

Following the recapitalisation exercise in 2007, the company was reorganised into a group structure comprising Royal Exchange Plc as the holding company and five strategic subsidiaries namely:

  • Royal Exchange General Insurance Company Limited (Non-Life Insurance Services)
  • Royal Exchange Prudential Life Plc (Life Assurance Services)
  • Royal Exchange Finance and Asset Management Limited (Financial Advisory Services)
  • Royal Exchange Healthcare Limited (HMO and Health Insurance)
  • Royal Exchange Microfinance Bank Limited (Banking Services) 

    Meanwhile Royal Exchange Plc, Nigeria’s premier insurance and financial services group, has announced an increase in its Profit After Tax (PAT) by 19 per cent from N171.14 million achieved in half year 2016 to N203.3 million recorded in half year 2017.

    The company also announced an increase in its Gross Written Premium (GWP) in the sum of N9.37 billion in the period under consideration, which represents an increase of 11 percent over the half year 2016 (H1’16), which stood at N8.43 billion.

    The H1’17 Gross Premium Income witnessed a moderate growth of 6.3 percent over the H1’16 figures, at N6.86 billion for H1’17, compared to the N6.46 billion generated in the corresponding period in 2016.

    Net Premium Income for the period amounted to N4.72 billion, representing a marginal growth of 2.5 percent over that of half year 2016, which stood at N4.60 billion. Total Net Claims paid for the period under review amounted to N1.76 billion, a decrease of 10 percent from half year 2016, which was N1.95 billion. This feat was achieved as a result of stringent underwriting policies implemented throughout the company in the period under review.

    While speaking on the results, the Group Managing Director of Royal Exchange Plc, Alhaji Auwalu Muktari, said “By focusing on the growth objectives set forth at the beginning of the year, which included an increased focus on the retail and corporate markets, amongst others, we have been able to achieve moderate growth and the board and management of the company are definitely optimistic for the second half of the year.”

    According to Alhaji Muktari, “The beginning of the 2017 financial year witnessed difficulties in the Nigerian economy, but as evidenced by our stellar results and those of other firms in the Nigerian Stock Market, there is renewed optimism in the Nigerian economy.

    “Royal Exchange Plc is hopeful that by focusing our efforts on aggressive sales of our various products and services, including strong presence and participation in the retail sales space and the continued optimization of our operating costs, we will be able to surpass our financial targets set for ourselves at the beginning of the year.”

    On the state of the insurance industry in Nigeria, Auwalu Muktari noted that while government is the biggest spender in the Nigerian economy, it is important that the private sector sees the insurance industry as partners in their progress by taking out policies to ensure not only business continuity, but also peace of mind in the event of any business disruption or random event happens. He also noted that increased awareness on the usefulness and benefits of insurance by the media will help increase insurance penetration and wider patronage of the various insurance products in Nigeria.